Boudewijn Cats

Boudewijn Cats, engraving by Pieter Holsteyn the Younger

Boudewijn Cats or Catz (also Balduin Cats or Catzius ; * 1601 in Gorinchem , † May 18, 1663 in Leuven ) was a Roman Catholic bishop .

Life

Cat's early education is unknown. He went to the University of Leuven . There he obtained a licentiate in theology and a master's degree in the liberal arts . He was first pastor in Spaarnwoude , then in 1637 president of the Dutch seminary in Leuven . After his uncle Judocus Cats died on January 12, 1641, he went to Haarlem as a priest and became rector of the nunnery there.

Cats became canon on April 2, 1642 and dean of the chapter of Haarlem on September 10, 1642 . He later became vicar general of the diocese of Haarlem . By Jakobus de la Torre he was appointed Vicar of Leeuwarden and Groningen and Archpriest of Kennemerland. After Cats had several higher positions and an appointment as bishop in prospect, he owed his appointment to a fortunate circumstance. The Dutch clergy nominated John of Neercassel to succeed de la Torre. In Rome, however, he was suspected of being a supporter of Jansenism .

Cats was appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Dutch Mission and Titular Archbishop of Philippi by the Pope on May 31, 1662 . On September 17, 1662, the episcopal ordination took place in St. Pantleon in Cologne . The turmoil and the conflict over his appointment overwhelmed him and drove him mad, which is why he retired to Leuven in April 1663 and died there shortly afterwards.

literature

• Janssen: Cats (Balduinus) . In: Petrus Johannes Blok , Philipp Christiaan Molhuysen (Ed.): Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek . Part 4. N. Israel, Amsterdam 1974, Sp. 405–407 (Dutch, knaw.nl - first edition: AW Sijthoff, Leiden 1918, reprint unchanged).
• Abraham Jacob van der Aa : Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden (BWN), Brederode, Haarlem 1858, Volume 3, p. 253 f.

Web links

• Entry on Boudewijn Cats (Catzius) on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on February 16, 2020.
• Publications by and about Boudewijn Cats in VD 17 .

predecessor	Office	successor
James de la Torre	(Titular) Archbishop in Utrecht and Vicar Apostolic of the Dutch Mission 1662–1663	John of Neercassel