Jan Pieter Schotte (29 April 1928 – 10 January 2005) was a Belgian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and an official of the Roman Curia.

Biography

He was born on 29 April 1928 in the town of Beveren-Leie (now a part of

Waregem Waregem (; vls, Woaregem), sometimes known as Waereghem, is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality lies in the valley of the river Leie, between Kortrijk and Ghent. It is part of the arrondiss ...

) in the province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. He entered the

Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...

(CICM Missionaries) in 1946. He was ordained a priest in 1952. From 1953 to 1956 he studied

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

, Belgium and from 1962 to 1963 at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in Washington, DC. From 1955 to 1962, he was professor of canon law at the CICM theological seminary in Leuven and from 1957 to 1962 assistant professor at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences,

, Belgium. He was vice-rector of the CICM theological seminary 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 ...

from 1956 to 1962. In 1963, he became rector of the Immaculate Heart mission seminary in Washington, DC, where he served until 1966. In 1967, he came to Rome as General Secretary of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a post he held until 1972. Jan Schotte became a bishop in 1984 and an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

in 1985. On 26 November 1994 he was given the red hat of

. Schotte was the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops from 1985 until 2004, leaving the post when

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

accepted the resignation that Schotte had submitted in 2003 upon achieving the age limit. He was president of the Office of Labor of the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the S ...

from 1989 until his death. Schotte died on 10 January 2005 in the

Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic The Gemelli University Hospital ( it, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli) is a large general hospital in Rome, Italy. With 1575 beds, it is the second-largest hospital in Italy, the largest hospital in Rome and one of the lar ...

in Rome. He was buried in his Deaconry of Saint Julian of the Flemings in Rome. Had he survived

, who delivered the

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

at his funeral – the last while John Paul was alive.

References

External links

Biographical notes on Cardinal Schotte, Vatican Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schotte, Jan Pieter 1928 births 2005 deaths Belgian cardinals Catholic University of America alumni Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Labour Office of the Apostolic See Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II People from Waregem