Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen (October 7, 1932 – June 24, 2013) was a Dutch
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. After being
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
(
emeritus) of
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
,
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, he became
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
(
emeritus) of the
Diocese of Reykjavík (
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
). His episcopal motto is ''Parate viam Domini'' (Prepare the way of the Lord).
Early life and priesthood
Gijsen was born in
Oeffelt
Oeffelt is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant, about 5 km north of Boxmeer town and 6 km west of the border with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Oeffelt lies on the west bank on the Meuse river with Gennep in t ...
. He would be ordained a priest on April 6 1957. He obtained a doctorate (Ph.D) in Church History, focusing his thesis on
Joannes Augustinus Paredis. During the National Pastoral Council in
Noordwijkerhout
Noordwijkerhout () is a town and former municipality in the western part of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The town is currently part of the municipality of Noordwijk and lies in the bulb-growing region (the Duin- en Bollenstre ...
from 1966 until 1970, Gijsen was one of the opponents to the direction the council was taking. The council was choosing for a more liberal interpretation on the documents promulgated by the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
, in particular the interpretation of
Lumen Gentium
''Lumen gentium'', the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bisho ...
. This was in contradiction to the view held by the pope. Many view his stance on the council of Noordwijkerhout as one of the reasons, if not the reason Gijsen would later be appointed bishop of Roermond.
Episcopate in Roermond, the Netherlands
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
appointed Gijsen as bishop of Roermond on February 13 1972, with co-consecrator being
Bernardus Johannes Alfrink
Bernardus Johannes Alfrink (5 July 1900 – 17 December 1987) was a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1955 to 1975, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.
Biography
Born in Nijkerk, ...
. The reaction to his appointment was one of outrage. The liberal Dutch Catholics of the episcopacy were heartbroken, a pain which was broadcast in the media. Among his soon-to-be colleagues, he was an unknown factor. Cardinal Alfrink even went to
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 ...
to contest the appointment, but instead was told he had to co-consecrate Gijsen. This increased the outrage the laity was expressing over his appointment, as this was seen as a way to force the cardinals hand. This would increase the divide between the Dutch laity and the Catholic hierarchy.
During his episcopacy, Gijsen would try as much as he could to overturn the changes made at Noordwijkerhout. In 1993 he resigned for health reasons. During this sickness he was the titular bishop of
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
.
Episcopate in Reykjavik, Iceland
After a few years at the
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...
as bishop of Maastricht, (Traiectum ad Mosam), Gijsen's health improved. In Roermond, he had already been succeeded by bishop
Frans Wiertz
Franciscus Jozef Maria (Frans) Wiertz (December 2, 1942) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of Roermond from 1993 until 2017.
Early life
Born in Kerkrade as the oldest in a family of nine, Wiertz studied at the Minor semin ...
but in Reykjavik, the diocese with few priests for an enormous area, happened to have been vacant for two years, due to the rather sudden death of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
bishop,
Alfred Jolson
Alfred James Jolson, S.J., (June 18, 1928 – March 21, 1994) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and former Bishop of the Diocese of Reykjavík, Iceland.
After several years of teaching in various Jesuit educational instit ...
.
Bishop Gijsen moved from the heavily Catholic Dutch diocese to Reykjavik, where the Catholic population is very small and rising solely due to immigration. Gijsen remained bishop in Iceland for another ten years. On October 30, 2007, the
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Diocese of Reykjavík, presented by Joannes Gijsen, in accordance with cano
401 § 1of the
1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comp ...
. Since then the bishop lived in
Sittard (Limburg) as pastor of the Carmelite Sisters. In Reykjavik, he was succeeded by the Swiss-born bishop Pierre Bürcher.
Death
Gijsen died in
Sittard on 24 June 2013, aged 80. He died only 2 months after another Dutch bishop,
Muskens, died.
In 2014 two complaints against Gijsen for sexual abuse dating from the period 1958–1961 were deemed valid by the complaints commission of the Catholic Church.
The determination that complaints were valid was the first time against a Dutch bishop. Gijsen's successor in the diocese of Roermond,
Frans Wiertz
Franciscus Jozef Maria (Frans) Wiertz (December 2, 1942) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of Roermond from 1993 until 2017.
Early life
Born in Kerkrade as the oldest in a family of nine, Wiertz studied at the Minor semin ...
, apologized for Gijsen's behaviour.
[
]
References
External links
Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gijsen, Joannes
1932 births
2013 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland
Deaths from cancer in the Netherlands
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Iceland
People from Boxmeer
Roman Catholic bishops of Reykjavík
Bishops of Roermond