Joseph Laurent Philippe

S.C.I. The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart ( la, Congregatio Sacerdotum a Sacro Corde Iesu) abbreviated SCI, also called the Dehonians, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the ...

(3 April 1877 – 21 October 1956) was Bishop of Luxembourg from 1935 to 1956.

Life

Born in Rollingergrund in 1877, Joseph Laurent Philippe was ordained a priest on 28 May 1904.Bishop Joseph Laurent Philippe, S.C.I.
catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 17 October 2013. On 20 January 1926 he was made

Superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the

Priests of the Sacred Heart The Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart ( la, Congregatio Sacerdotum a Sacro Corde Iesu) abbreviated SCI, also called the Dehonians, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church f ...

. On 25 April 1935,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

appointed him titular bishop of Tinum and

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 Luxembourg. His consecration took place on 9 June in Rome, by Francesco Cardinal Marchetti Selvaggiani. On 9 September 1935 he became Bishop of Luxembourg, succeeding

Pierre Nommesch Pierre Nommesch (16 December 1864 – 9 October 1935) was the Bishop of Luxembourg from 1920 to 1935. Biography At the age of 26, on 28 October 1890 Nommesch was ordained a priest. On 8 March 1920 he was appointed Bishop of Luxembourg and on 25 ...

, who died in office. As Bishop, he argued for a revival of the Spiritual Exercises, and of religious traditions. He was also the first of the Bishops of Luxembourg to live in the ''Avenue Marie-Thérèse'', on the land of the old Fort Maria Rheinsheim (part of the Fortress of Luxembourg), where his successor would build the episcopal palace of today in 1957.Schmitt, Michel
"Die Stadt Luxemburg als Bischofssitz".
(in German) ''Ons Stad'', No. 36, 1991. Retrieved 17 October 2013. His time in office saw the expansion of the cathedral from 1935 to 1938 and the

German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II began in May 1940 after the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was invaded by Nazi Germany. Although Luxembourg was officially neutral, it was situated at a strategic point at the end of the French M ...

. A third of the churches and chapels in the diocese were destroyed in the war, especially from 1944 to 1945. Personally, Philippe did not confront the German occupiers, so as not to endanger religious and the activity of the church, which could already only exercise its functions to a limited extent. However, he avoided all contact with the German authorities, and made preparations in case the diocese became leaderless. The church was progressively forced out of public life by the German authorities; Christian organisations were forcibly dissolved, religious education was banned from the schools, the monasteries were abolished, and active religious communities were deprived of their property. The diocesan administration, on the other hand, remained the only intact Luxembourgish institution during World War II.Hellinghausen, Georges
"Joseph Philippe (1935-1956)"
(in German). Catholic Church in Luxembourg. Retrieved 17 October 2013. After the liberation of Luxembourg, Philippe set out rebuilding the church institutions. From 14 May 1949, he was assisted by a coadjutor bishop, in the form of

Léon Lommel Léon Lommel (3 February 1893 – 11 June 1978) was a Luxembourgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Luxembourg from 1956 to 1971. Biography Léon Lommel was born in Schleiderhof, as the son of a farmer. He studied ...

. He died in Luxembourg city in 1956, and was succeeded by Lommel.

References

External links

"Joseph Philippe (1935-1956)", biography on the Catholic Church in Luxembourg's website
(German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippe, Joseph Laurent 1877 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Luxembourg Dehonian bishops