Jacobus de la Torre (1608 – 16 September 1661) served as

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of the Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia (1651-1661) and

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

(1647-1661).

Life

The merchant family De la Torre was originally from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and had settled in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

in the fifteenth century, where two members would hold the office of

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. Descendant Philip de la Torre moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in the early seventeenth century. Jacobus was born there as the second son of this Philip de la Torre, lord of Valkenisse and

Maurik Maurik is a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Buren, and lies about 8 km north of Tiel. History The village was first mentioned around 300 as Mannaricio, and since 997 as Maldericke. The etymolog ...

and of Henriette van Cuylenburg(h) (also: Hendrika van Culemborg), daughter of Zweder van Culemborg (1541-1597), descendant of a bastard branch from nobleman Hubert van Culemborg (1420-1481). The possession of the

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

of Valkenisse inherited on the brother of Jacobus, François de la Torre, married to Maria van Poelgeest, descendant of the noble Van Poelgeest family. Jacobus de la Torre also descended from the De Cock van Opijnen family.J. Vriens: “Tienden Moergestel en familie De la Torre, 1618-1858”, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum, september 1970 Jacobus de la Torre studied in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, and was ordained priest in 1633. In 1640 he was appointed

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Philippus Rovenius Philippus Rovenius ( nl, Filips van Rouveen; baptised 1 January 1573, in Deventer – 10 October 1651, in Utrecht) was apostolic vicar of the Dutch Mission from 1614 to 1651. Life Rovenius studied in Leuven, and was ordained priest in 1599. In 1 ...

, and in 1647 appointed titular

archbishop of Ephesus The Metropolis of Ephesus ( el, Μητρόπολις Εφέσου) was an ecclesiastical territory (metropolis) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in western Asia Minor, modern Turkey. Christianity was introduced already in the city o ...

. In 1649 he was dismissed and exiled. He stayed on in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, after a stay in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1655-56. On his return to Brussels he showed signs of dementia and in 1660 had to be hospitalised. To the dismay of the secular clergy he set up 11 new

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

stations in his ''Concessiones Ephesinae'' (1652). He died, aged about 53, at

Huijbergen Huijbergen is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Woensdrecht, about southeast of Bergen op Zoom, close to the Belgian border. History The village was first mentioned in 1264 as in Huybergen. Th ...

. The

Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands ( nl, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland), sometimes known as the Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order, the Church of Utrecht (Ultrajectine Church), or Jansenist Church of Holland, is an ...

considers De la Torre as one of the archbishops of the

Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht The Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht is an archdiocese within the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands which split from the Archdiocese of Utrecht officially in 1723 because of the illicit consecration of Cornelius van Steenoven to the epi ...

Sources

*''De Katholieke Encyclopaedie'' (Amsterdam, 1938)

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre, Jacobus 1608 births 1661 deaths Apostolic vicars of the Holland (Batavia) Mission Clergy from The Hague Old University of Leuven alumni