Jozef van Reeth

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Joseph van Reeth as Bishop of Galle (1896)

Jozef van Reeth (in French spelling: Joseph van Reeth ; born August 6, 1843 in Antwerp , † September 11, 1923 in Galle ) was a Belgian Jesuit , missionary and first bishop of Galle .

Life

Jozef van Reeth was the son of Petrus van Reeth and his wife Maria, geb. Ceulemans. He attended the Jesuit-led Onze Lieve Vrouw College in his hometown and in 1860, at the end of school, joined the Society of Jesus . He completed the novitiate (1860–1862) and juniorate (1862–1863) in Drongen , studied philosophy in Tournai (1863–1864) and in Namur (1864–1866), taught ancient languages , English and music in Drongen (1866–1864). 1870) and at the Collège Saint-Stanislas in Mons (1870–1872) and studied theology at the Catholic University of Leuven (1872–1876). He was ordained a priest on September 8, 1875 . The tertiary followed in 1876/1877, and in 1877 he took his last vows . In the same year he became Vice Provincial of the Belgian Jesuit Province; In 1882 he was appointed provincial superior for the usual six-year term (until 1888). He was then rector of the novitiate in Drongen.

On January 11, 1895, Pope Leo XIII appointed him . founding bishop of the mission district Missio Gallensis , which was raised to a diocese in 1893 in Ceylon, then British . He received his episcopal consecration on March 19, 1895 in his home town of Antwerp, the Archbishop of Mechelen , Cardinal Pierre-Lambert Goossens ; Co-consecrators were the Bishop of Ghent , Antoine Stillemans , and Joseph van der Stappen , auxiliary bishop in Mechelen. With four confreres, three priests and a Jesuit brother, he traveled to Ceylon. They arrived in Galle in November 1895. The mission yearbook of the Belgian Jesuits reported in detail about the “solemn entry” of the bishop into the city.

Within a short time, Bishop van Reeth founded numerous mission stations, one year after his arrival there were already 20 mission stations. His special focus was on education. He set up dozens of schools, including St. Aloysius' College in Galle, which became one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and a vocational school for girls. He succeeded in convincing the Flemish Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Jesus and Mary to send some sisters to Ceylon to run the girls' schools and orphanages. In 1903 he founded a local congregation, the Sisters of the Holy Angels of Ceylon (today: Sisters of the Holy Angels of Sri Lanka ).

Jozef van Reeth died in his episcopal city on September 11, 1923. He was buried in the local cathedral.

Honors

  • On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Sisters of the Holy Angels of Sri Lanka in 2003, the Post Office of Sri Lanka issued a stamp showing Bishop van Reeth, the founder.

literature

  • Jean Baptiste van der Aa: Ile de Ceylan: Croquis, Mœurs et Coutumes. Lettres d'un missionnaire. Charles Bulens, Brussels 1900.
  • Article Joseph Van Reeth. In: Ángel Santos Hernández: Jesuitas y obispados. Vol. 2: Los jesuitas obispos misioneros y los obispos jesuitas de la extinción. Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid 2000, ISBN 84-89708-99-1 , p. 265.
  • Edward Perera: Van Reeth (Jozef). In: Belgische overzeese biography / Biographie belge d'outre-mer. Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Brussels 2015, ISBN 978-90-75652-54-3 , Sp. 401-403.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Edward Perera: Van Reeth (Jozef). In: Belgische overzeese biography / Biographie belge d'outre-mer. Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Brussels 2015, col. 401.
  2. ^ Art. Joseph Van Reeth. In: Ángel Santos Hernández: Jesuitas y obispados. Vol. 2: Los jesuitas obispos misioneros y los obispos jesuitas de la extinción. Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid 2000, p. 265.
  3. ↑ a b Entry on Joseph van Reeth, SJ on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Catalogus Proviciae Belgicae Societatis Jesu ineunte anno MDCCCXCVI. Typographia Proviciae Belgicae, Brussels 1895, p. 83.
  5. ↑ Précis historique. Bulletin des missions belges de la Compagnie de Jésus , vol. 45 (1896). The title page of the volume shows Bishop van Reeth.
  6. ^ The Church in South Ceylon. In: The Tablet , April 10, 1897, p. 25.
  7. ^ Arnold Wright: Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services, London 1907, p. 275.
  8. ^ Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Angels of Sri Lanka , accessed November 11, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME van Reeth, Jozef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES van Reeth, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian Jesuit, missionary and bishop
DATE OF BIRTH August 6, 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH September 11, 1923
Place of death bile