Cardinal Anders Arborelius
In our time it has often been forgotten that our first duty - and our privilege - is to honour and glorify God. Man is not reduced by it, on the contrary, he grows, becomes more free and happier. One of my greatest desires is to help people discover this.
Bishop Anders Arborelius, OCD is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden.
He was born in 1949 in Sorengo in Switzerland but spent his childhood in Lund, Sweden, and converted to Catholicism in November 1969 in Malmö. He entered the Carmelite monastery in Norraby 1971 and took perpetual vows in Bruges, Belgium, in 1977. Anders Arborelius was ordained a priest on September 8, 1979 in Malmö.
He has a Master of Arts in modern languages - English, Spanish and German - from Lund University and has studied Theology and Philosophy in Bruges and Rome. In Rome, he obtained a Licentiate in Spirituality from the Carmelite Pontifical Theological Faculty,
Anders Arborelius was appointed bishop of Stockholm by Pope John Paul II on November 17, 1998, and he was ordained a bishop on December 29, 1998 at St. Erik's Catholic Cathedral in Stockholm by Bishop Hubertus Brandenburg. The two Co-Consecrators were Auxiliary Bishop William Kenney CP, Stockholm, and Bishop Alfons Nossol, Opole, Poland.
On May 21, 2017 Pope Francis announced that on 28 June a Consistory will be held to appoint bishop Arborelius and four other Bishops to new Cardinals.The consistory took place in Saint Peter's basilica in Rome on June 28. His titular church in Rome is S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
Anders Arborelius is the first Swedish cardinal in the history.
Cardinal Arborelius is a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy, the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in the Holy See. Since 2020 he is also a member of the Vatican's Council for the Economy. In July 2022 Cardinal Arborelius was appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops.
In June 2022 Cardinal Arborelius was awarded His Majesty the King's medal for "significant contributions to Swedish and international church life".
The cardinal's motto is "In Laudem Gloriae" - "To God, praise and glory."
"In Laudem Gloriae" is an expression of all that I am. I want to give glory to the Triune God. In our time it has often been forgotten that our first duty - and our privilege - is to honour and glorify God. Man is not reduced by it, on the contrary, he grows, becomes more free and happier. One of my greatest desires is to help people discover this."
Anders Arborelius is the author of the following books (all in Swedish):
- Edith Stein – A biography, texts, 1983.
- Den brinnande pilen (The burning arrow) – Carmelite mysticism throughout times, 1986.
- Trosmeditation (Meditation of faith), 1987.
- Blottställd och fulländad (Exposed and perfect). – A biography of Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, 1990.
- Allt eller intet (All or nothing). – The life of John of the Cross, 1991.
- Spiritualitet - andlig teologi (Spirituality – spiritual theology), 1994.
- Spiritualitet: andligt liv (Spirituality: spiritual life), 1999.
- Korsvägen (The way of the cross), 2010.
- Kardinalens novisår - ett slags postilla (The Cardinal's novitiate), 2018.
- Vardagsmystik (Everyday mysticism), 2021.