Victor Scheppers
Victor Scheppers (born April 25, 1802 in Mechelen ( Belgium ); † March 7, 1877 ibid) was a Belgian priest and founder of the Order of the Brothers of Mercy of Mechelen .
Life
Victor Scheppers was the youngest of four children, his parents were wealthy landowners, his father owned a brewery near Mechelen. As a schoolboy, Victor first attended primary school in Mechelen and later moved to Aalst , where he also passed his school leaving examination. After the deaths of his mother (1813), his sister (1815) and his brother (1817), he took over his father's brewery. He made trips to Paris and annually visited the Marian pilgrimage site of Scherpenheuvel . During one of these spiritual journeys he decided to become a priest in 1825, in 1832 he received the priesthood .
social commitment
Very soon he began to look after impoverished children, his father bought him a house in Mechelen for this purpose and Victor Scheppers started looking after and educating socially disadvantaged children. In 1835 he expanded his educational establishment to include an all-day school and campaigned for working children, for whom he offered free lessons. He also ensured the establishment of a Sunday school in which 17 to 18-year-old students received lessons. In 1851 he established a day school in the monastery on the Melaan in Mechelen and expanded it into a boarding school . The boarding school's reputation as the "Scheppers Institute" was soon known and people absorbed the "spirit of Scheppers". His social and educational commitment led in his spiritual career in 1856 to recognition and Pope Pius IX. awarded him the papal honorary title " Monsignor ".
The foundation of the order
In the times of industrial revolution there was much poverty; Alcoholism , prostitution and social problems increased, and the rise in crime filled the prisons. Scheppers visited the prisons and developed the idea of supervising and training the prison inmates in order to reduce crime. But for this he needed support. During his annual pilgrimage to Scherpenheuvel, the canon Victor Scheppers decided to found a “ Merciful Brotherhood ” whose main task was to look after prisoners. The Minister of Justice of Belgium endorsed this activity and also promised financial support. With borrowed money, Scheppers bought a house and converted it into a monastery building . In March 1838 the first two brothers - two simple craftsmen - joined this religious community . Engelbertus Cardinal Sterckx transferred the management to Brother Victor Scheppers on January 25, 1839 and approved the rules of the order and the robe.
Aftermath
Victor Scheppers was on 16 March 1987 by Pope John Paul II. To the Venerable Servant of God .
See also
- Merciful Brothers of Mechelen , also known as "Broeders van Scheppers"
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scheppers, Victor |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian priest and founder of the order of the Brothers of Mercy of Mechelen |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 25, 1802 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mechelen , Belgium |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 1877 |
| Place of death | Mechelen |