Leon Lemmens (16 March 1954 – 2 June 2017) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

auxiliary bishop in Belgium. Lemmens, a native of Maasmechelen, was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 10 July 1977. He was named an auxiliary bishop to the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels by

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 sovereign ...

on 22 February 2011 and consecrated on 3 April 2011.

Biography

Lemmens followed high school at the Klein Seminarie in Sint-Truiden. He entered seminary in Sint-Truiden (1971-1976) and was ordained to the priesthood to the Diocese of Hasselt on 10 July 1977. He obtained a bachelor in theology at the KU Leuven (1976) and studies moral theology in Rome. He obtained a licentiate in moral theology (1979) and became doctor in theology in 1989. He worked as a parish priest in Genk (1981-1984). In 1984 he became professor at the seminary in

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

. From 1986 to 1997 he was a member of the Interdiocesan Commission on Liturgy and from 1990 to 1995 he was responsible for vocations. In 1994-1995 he took charge of the organisation of the meeting of young people with the pope in Brussels. In 2004 he became rector of the Romanian College in Rome and in 2005 he was an official at the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches of the Roman Curia.

Auxiliary bishop

On 22 February 2011, 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 sovereign ...

appointed Lemmens as auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, with the responsibility for the vicariate Vlaams-Brabant & Mechelen. He was a Municipa. He was consecrated on 3 April 2011 in the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg by archbishop

André-Joseph Léonard André-Joseph Léonard (born 6 May 1940) is a Belgian prelate who served as the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium after his installation on 27 February 2010. He had previously served as Bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 u ...

Death

Lemmens was a member of the Community of Sant'Egidio from 1977 until his death. He died from leukemia on 2 June 2017 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 ...

, Belgium. His funeral service on 10 June was held in

St. Rumbold's Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Romboutskathedraal, french: Cathédrale Saint-Rombaut) is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Rumbold of ...

, Mechelen, which was filled to capacity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemmens, Leon 1954 births 2017 deaths Belgian Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium People from Maasmechelen Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI