Julius (Jules) Raes (1884–1961), known in religion as Hildebrand and also under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

H. Cappaert, was a Belgian Capuchin historian and archivist.

Life

Raes was born in

Hooglede Hooglede (; vls, Ooglee) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of and Hooglede proper. On January 1, 2006, Hooglede had a total population of 9,831. The total area is 37.84 k ...

on 3 June 1884, the youngest son of Frans Raes and Marie-Louise Vancoilliue.J.P. Tytgat, "Raes, Julius", '' Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek'', vol. 7 (Brussels, 1977), 775-780. He attended the Capuchin-run Serafijns College in Bruges and on 28 September 1901 joined the Capuchin Order in

Enghien Enghien (; nl, Edingen ; pcd, Inguî; vls, Enge) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population dens ...

, taking the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...

Hildebrand. He was ordained to the priesthood in Enghien on 13 October 1907 and was sent to study 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 ...

, where he graduated Bachelor of Theology in 1909. He taught

Church History __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

and

Patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

at the Capuchin seminary in

Izegem Izegem (; vls, Yzegem) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Iz ...

for two years before being sent to Rome, where he briefly worked at the Collegio Internazionale di San Lorenzo da Brindisi before returning to Belgium. In 1913 he appointed archivist to the order's Belgian province, and became founding editor of the journal ''Neerlandia Franciscana''. Publication was suspended after the first issue due to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during which Hildebrand was auxiliary assistant pastor (1914–1915) and then acting pastor (1916–1918) in Rollegem-Kapelle, in 1917–1918 also acting as chaplain to Italian prisoners of war that the Germans put to work on the front in Belgium. He resumed his work as lecturer and editor after the war, and the second issue of ''Neerlandia Franciscana'' was published in 1919. In 1921 the title was changed to ''Franciscana'' but in 1924 the order closed down the journal due the costs of publication. In 1927 Hildebrand was invited to join the editorial board of '' Ons Geestelijk Erf''. In 1929 the archive was moved to the Capuchin convent in Antwerp, and Hildebrand as archivist moved with it. He was released from other duties, so that he could dedicate his time to archival and historical work. After the Second World War he began publishing his ten-volume history of the Capuchin order in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. Hildebrand retired in 1958, after 45 years as archivist, and moved back to Izegem. He died suddenly in Izegem on 6 June 1961.

Publications

* ''De Capucijnen te Lier, 1623–1797'' (Lier, 1932) * ''P. Lucas van Mechelen'' (Turnhout, 1935) * ''Le martyr Georges de Geel et les débuts de la mission du Congo, 1645-1652'' (Antwerp, 1940) * ''De Kapucijnen in de Nederlanden en het Prinsbisdom Luik'' (10 vols., 1945–1956) * ''Het Vlaamsgezinde dagblad "De Belgische standaard" van de Kapucijn Ildefons Peeters, 1915-1919'' (Antwerp, 1957)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raes, Julius 1884 births 1961 deaths People from Hooglede Capuchins Belgian archivists 20th-century Belgian historians