Cardinal Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, was a hero of a persecuted faith, dignified, courageous, discreet and wise, affirms former President of Romania Emil Constantinescu.
"Today, September 29, 2025, His Eminence Cardinal Lucian Mureşan is led on his last earthly journey by the beloved faithful of the Greek Catholic Church United with Rome and the high officials of the Romanian state, as befits a hero of a persecuted faith, who rose with dignity, courage, discretion and wisdom towards the light of a mission assumed and fulfilled in an era of terror in history, honoring through his deeds the memory of his illustrious predecessors, Cardinal Iuliu Hossu and Cardinal Alexandru Todea," reads a message from the Institute for Advanced Studies for the Culture and Civilization of the Levant signed by Emil Constantinescu and transmitted to AGERPRES on Monday.
According to the former president of Romania, "Lucian Mure?an's too young age prevented him from knowing the horrors of communist prisons, pushed to the point of self-sacrifice, as happened with the martyr bishops beatified by Pope Francis on the Freedom Plain in Blaj, on June 2, 2019, but he knew the oppression of clandestine theological study, clandestine ordination and service, and permanent harassment from the Security Service, while masking his mission and high faith by performing seemingly minor duties."
Emil Constantinescu mentioned that he met Cardinal Lucian Muresan "through the mediation of Corneliu Coposu and his family, through the mediation of Doina Cornea and her family."
"Thanks to Corneliu Coposu and Doina Cornea, I understood that reconciliation with neighbors, reconciliation between Churches, reconciliation between torturers and victims after decades and even centuries of painful ruptures and wounds is not only a condition for Romania's integration into the Euro-Atlantic world, but also a chance for national rebirth, taken beyond material coordinates towards the moral principles and spiritual values ??that were the foundation of Western civilization. Reconciliation was the most important construction of my presidential mandate, and Cardinal Lucian Mureşan was with me in the efforts to rebuild bridges between Churches, just as Patriarch Teoctist and Monsignor Ioan Robu were with me. Our common achievement was the visit of Pope John Paul II to Romania, the first visit of a Sovereign Pontiff to a country with a majority Orthodox population. after more than nine centuries since the Great Schism," the former president emphasized.
Emil Constantinescu sent condolences to the Greek Catholic community in Romania.
"My thoughts today go to the Greek Catholic community in Romania, to the bishops and archbishops of the Church United with Rome, to whom I convey my condolences for this heavy loss. Today, our world is faced with challenges both old and new, which new generations and new leaders are called to face. The generation of His Eminence Cardinal Lucian Mure?an and my generation have completed their historical mission and have reached or are approaching the conclusion of their earthly mission. I hope that our legacy has mattered and will be carried forward according to the current context: geopolitical, cultural and spiritual. With respect for truth, faith and the moral principles to which we have dedicated our lives," he added.
Cardinal Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic and Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Alba Iulia and Fagaras, will be buried on Monday, in Blaj.
He died on Thursday, at the age of 94.
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