Antoon Stillemans (10 December 1832,

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

– 5 November 1916,

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

) was for 26 years the twenty-fourth

bishop of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropoli ...

, in Belgium.

Education

Stillemans began studies at the

St. Joseph Minor Seminary St. Joseph Minor Seminary (Sint-Jozef Klein Seminarie or ''SJKS'') is a Catholic secondary school in Sint-Niklaas, Diocese of Ghent, Belgium. There were previously a Recollect monastery and a seminary on the site. History The first buildings ...

of Sint-Niklaas in 1846. In 1853 he enrolled at the major seminary in Ghent, earning a doctoral degree in philosophy at the University of Leuven in 1860. Stillemans' brother, , also became a priest.

Career

He was named in 1867

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

of the

of Sint-Niklaas, for a period of 21 years. He became president of the Major seminary in 1888 and canon of the cathedral chapter of Ghent and member of the episcopal council. He was canon elect after the sudden death of

Henri-Charles Lambrecht Henri-Charles-Camille Lambrecht (1848–1889) was 23rd bishop of Ghent between 1888–1889. Born in a small town near Oudenaarde, Lambrecht was educated in the local school. After his studies in St. Joseph Minor Seminary and the Major Seminary ...

. He promoted the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, and had the current Episcopal Palace in Ghent restyled as well building a new major seminary in Ghent. He named his brother Pierre-Louis Stillemans an honorary canon of St-Bavo. In 1899, under pressure of the royal court and Minister Woeste, he suspended

Adolf Daens Adolf Daens (18 December 1839 – 14 June 1907) was a Flemish priest from Aalst. Daens was a Jesuit from 1859 to 1871, but is especially known for his socio-political involvement after he joined the diocesan clergy. He created the Daensist movem ...

, a radical priest in Aalst. He promoted the social cultural movement of Flanders. In 1902 he consecrated the new church attached to

Dendermonde Abbey Dendermonde Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul (founded 1837) is a Benedictine monastery in Dendermonde (Belgium), which played a role in the Liturgical Movement in Belgium. History In 1837, under the leadership of Dom Veremundus D’Hae ...

. In 1906, he celebrated his golden jubilee of priest and in 1914, his silver jubilee as bishop of Ghent. He was honored with the sacred

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

with papal permission at the end of his career. A street was named in his honor in Sint-Niklaas, as well a stained-glass window inside the town hall, he gifted

with a large copy of his portrait. The colors of the city, blue and yellow are reflected in his heraldic episcopal crest. After his death he left his

crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

to the main church of Sint-Niklaas where he was baptized. He was succeeded by Mgr.

Emilius Seghers Emilius Seghers (1855–1927) was the 25th bishop of Ghent in Belgium. Life Seghers was born in Ghent on 3 September 1855, the son of a lawyer. He studied at the Jesuit secondary school in Ghent and the minor seminary. In 1874 he entered the M ...

Honours

* 7 October 1889: Honorary Doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven. * 1895: Officer in the Order of Leopold. * 14 November 1901: Papal Domestic Prelate, and assistant of the pontifical throne. * 30 November 1911: pallium by pontifical dispensation.

References

External links

catholic-hierarchy.orglukasweb.be
Bishops of Ghent 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium Canons (priests) 1832 births 1916 deaths People from Sint-Niklaas {{Belgium-RC-bishop-stub