The Diocese of Bruges (in Dutch Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

in the ecclesiastical province of the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers all of Belgium. A diocese from 1558 to its suppression in 1801, in 1832 it became a pre-diocesan apostolic vicariate as the Apostolic Administration of West Flanders. Its territory coincides with West Flanders. The episcopal see of the diocese is

Sint-Salvator Cathedral The Saint-Salvator Cathedral is the cathedral of Bruges, Flanders, in present-day Belgium. The cathedral is dedicated to the ''Verrezen Zaligmaker'' (Dutch, 'risen saviour', cf. Latin ''salvator'', 'saviour') and Saint-Donatius of Reims. Histo ...

, dedicated to

Our Savior In Christian theology, Jesus is sometimes referred to by the title Redeemer. This refers to the salvation he accomplished, and is based on the metaphor of redemption, or "buying back". In the New Testament, ''redemption'' is used to refer both ...

, in Bruges, West Flanders, which is also a minor basilica. The patron saint of the diocese is

Saint Donatian In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, so the cathedral is also known as ''Sint-Salvators- en Donaaskathedraal''.

Statistics

, it pastorally served 965,000 Catholics (82.1% of 1,174,752 total) on 3,145 km² in 362 parishes and 65 missions with 708 priests (499 diocesan, 209 religious), 91 deacons, 1,986 lay religious (290 brothers, 1,696 sisters) and 7 seminarians.

History

An earlier diocese of Bruges was established on 12 May 1558, on territory split off from the

Diocese of Tournai The Diocese of Tournai is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was formed in 1146, upon the dissolution of the Diocese of Noyon & Tournai, which had existed since the 7th Century. It is ...

, as part of the great Habsburg reform of the church in the then

Spanish Low Countries Spanish Netherlands (Spanish language, Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch language, Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French language, French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German language, German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes ...

. Its see,

St. Donatian's Cathedral St. Donatian's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Donaaskathedraal) was a Roman Catholic cathedral in Bruges, Belgium. Located on the Burg, one of the main squares in the city,Dunford and Lee, p.174.McDonald, p.14.McDonald, p.25. it was the largest church in Bru ...

, was destroyed in a fire in 1799 during the aftermath of the French Revolution. During the reforms under the

Napoleonic Concordate The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...

, the diocese was suppressed on 15 July 1801 and its territory merged into the

Diocese 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 metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels ...

. On 17 December 1832, shortly after the independence of Belgium, the territory was restored as the pre-diocesan Apostolic Administration of West Flanders. On 27 May 1834, the territory was again promoted to diocese and renamed after its see, Bruges, while the incumbent Apostolic Administrator became Suffragan Bishop. On 31 May 1967 the diocese lost a portion of territory to the much older

, shortly after a reshuffle of provincial borders involving a few municipalities, notably Mouscron being transferred to the

province of Hainaut Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...

(to which the bishopric of Tournai is now limited). In 1985 the diocese of Bruges experienced a papal visit from Pope John Paul II, who on 17 May gave a homily on the horrors of war at Ypres as part of his pastoral visit to the Low Countries. A 2010 scandal saw Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, a confessed and hardly remorseful pederast, forced into early retirement.

Ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops (first diocese) * 1560–1567: Petrus Curtius (Petrus De Corte) * 1569–1594: Remigius Driutius (Remi Drieux) * 1596–1602:

Mathias Lambrecht Mathias Lambrecht (1539–1602) was the third bishop of Bruges. Life Lambrecht was born at Sint-Laureins in the Brugse Vrije around 1539. On 7 January 1569 he graduated Licentiate of Sacred Theology at Old University of Leuven, Leuven University. ...

* 1604–1616:

Charles Philippe de Rodoan Charles Philippe de Rodoan, or in Dutch Karel Filips de Rodoan (1552–1616), was the third bishop of Middelburg and the fourth bishop of Bruges. Life Charles Philippe was born in the castle of Beerlegem in 1552, son of Louis de Rodoan, knight, lo ...

* 1616–1620:

Anthonius Triest Anthonius Triest (in Dutch sometimes ''Antoon''; in French ''Antoine'') (1576 – 28 May 1657), was the fifth bishop of Bruges and the seventh bishop of Ghent. Early life Anthonius was born in the castle of Ten Walle in Beveren in 1576, son of Ph ...

(also

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 ...

) * 1623–1629: Denis Stoffels * 1630–1639: Servaas de Quinckere * 1642–1649: Nicolaas de Haudion * 1651–1660: Carolus van den Bosch (afterwards

) * 1662–1668: Robert de Haynin * 1668–1671: ''Vacant'' (diocesan administrator

Charles Geleyns Charles Geleyns (c. 1610 – 22 August 1677 in Bruges), also named Carolus Geleyns in Latin or Karel Geleyns in Dutch, was a Flemish Roman Catholic priest, Benedictine monk and abbot of the Saint Peter's Abbey of Oudenburg in the Southern Nethe ...

) * 1671–1681: François de Baillencourt * 1682–1689:

Humbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano Humbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano (12 September 1627 in Rougemont, France – 9 June 1711 in Mechelen) was Archbishop of Mechelen (now in Belgium). Life He was the son of Achilles de Precipiano, Baron of Soye and anna de Montrichard. He re ...

(also Archbishop of Mechelen) * 1691–1706: Guilielmus (Willem) Bassery * 1706–1716: ''Vacant'' * 1716–1742: Hendrik Jozef van Susteren * 1743–1753: Jan-Baptist de Castillon * 1754–1775: Joannes-Robertus Caimo * 1777–1794:

Felix Brenart Felix Guillaume Antoine Brenart (1720–1794) was the last bishop of Bruges prior to the suppression of the diocese in the French period. Life Brenart was born in Leuven on 23 November 1720, the son of Jean-Antoine Brenart, baron of Korbeek-Lo, who ...

* ''Suppressed'' ;''Apostolic Administrator of West Flanders'' *

Franciscus Renatus Boussen Franciscus is a Latin given name, originally an epithet meaning "the Franks, Frank, the Frenchman". It was applied to Saint Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226). Francis had been baptized Giovanni (John); his father was Duchy of Spoleto, Italia ...

(January 21, 1833 – May 27, 1834 ''see next''), Titular Bishop of Ptolemais (December 17, 1832 – June 23, 1834),

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Ghent (Belgium) (17 December 1832 – 23 June 1834) ;''Suffragan Bishops (present diocese) * 1834–1848: Franciscus Renatus Boussen (''see previous'') * 1848–1864: Joannes-Baptista Malou * 1864–1894:

Johan Joseph Faict Jean-Joseph Faict (22 May 1813 – 4 January 1894) was the 20th Bishop of Bruges. Life Early years Faict was born in the coastal village of Leffinge at the time when the whole of West Flanders was part of the French empire. His father was a b ...

* 1894–1895: Petrus De Brabandere * 1895–1931:

Gustavus Waffelaert Gustave Joseph Waffelaert (1847–1931) was the 22nd bishop of Bruges in Belgium. Life Waffelaert was born in Rollegem on 27 August 1847. After attending St Vincent's college, Ypres, and the Minor Seminary, Roeselare (1865–1867) he entered the ...

* 1931–1952: Henricus Lamiroy * 1952–1984: Emiel-Jozef De Smedt * 1984–2010:

Roger Joseph Vangheluwe Roger Joseph Vangheluwe (born 7 November 1936) is the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges, Bishop of Bruges. He gained notoriety after admitting to having Sexual abuse, sexually abused two nephews over the course of a 15-year period while ser ...

* 2010–2015: Jozef De Kesel, later promoted Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels * 2016–present: Lode Aerts

Notes

External links and sources

GCatholic
{{Authority control Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges 1834 establishments in Belgium

Statistics

History

Ordinaries

See also

Notes

External links and sources