Joseph Mees (18 April 1923 – 9 December 2001) was a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, including almost twenty years as an Apostolic Nuncio.

Biography

Joseph Mees was born in

Bornem Bornem (, old spelling: ''Bornhem'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the village of Bornem proper, Hingene, and Weert, and . There are also the hamlets of Branst, Buitenland, Eikevliet ...

, Belgium, on 18 April 1923. He was ordained a priest on 4 April 1948. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...

in 1948. On 14 June 1969,

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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named him a titular archbishop and

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal

Jean-Marie Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secret ...

on 30 June 1969. On 11 July 1973, Pope Paul appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Paraguay. He had a close relationship with Paraguayan dictator

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with the ...

. On 19 January 1985,

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 ...

named him Apostolic Delegate to Southern Africa and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. Rather than support the anti-apartheid efforts of the South African bishops led by Denis Hurley, Archbishop of Durban, Mees quoted Pope John Paul's structures against clerical participation in politics, the same words South African President P.W. Botha had quoted to the bishops: "It is not for the pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political construction and organization of social life. This task forms part of the vocation of the laity acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens." Mees left South Africa in October 1987, apparently recalled to Rome, leaving in charge of the nunciature Mario Cassari, who gave the bishops' political efforts his enthusiastic endorsement. Mees died on 9 December 2001.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Joseph Mees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mees, Joseph 1923 births 2001 deaths Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Indonesia Apostolic Nuncios to Paraguay Apostolic Nuncios to Lesotho Apostolic Nuncios to South Africa People from Bornem Belgian expatriates Expatriates in Indonesia Expatriates in Paraguay Belgian expatriates in South Africa