Lode Aerts (born 2 October 1959), identified also as Lodewijk Aerts, is a Belgian prelate of the

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 ...

who has been

Bishop of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges (in Dutch Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan Arch ...

since December 2016.

Biography

Lode Aerts is a native of

Geraardsbergen Geraardsbergen (; french: Grammont, ) is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen prop ...

diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel ...

. He attended secondary school in

Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the contraction of "eke" and "lo", two Old German words meaning ''oak'' and ''sp ...

and entered the Diocesan Seminary in Ghent in 1977. He studied philosophy at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

and Theology at the diocesan seminary. He was ordained priest on 7 July 1984 and in 1988 obtained a doctorate in theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He taught at the seminary in Ghent from 1988 to 2002, when he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral ( nl, Sint Baafskathedraal), is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of ...

, and the diocesan vicar for vocations. In the summer of 2016 he became dean of Ghent Cathedral. On 5 October 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed him to succeed

Jozef De Kesel Jozef De Kesel (born 17 June 1947) is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since 2016 and Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels since 2015. He served as Bishop of Bruges from 2010 to 2015. Early life De Kesel was b ...

as Bishop of Bruges. As his motto he chose ''Pretiosus In Oculis Suis'' (Precious in His eyes). He was consecrated on 4 December by Cardinal de Kesel, in the Cathedral of Saint Saviour.

Publications

*''Nieuwkomers bij de bron: Als de Kerk naar jongeren luistert'' (Halewijn, 2003); French translation: ''Quand l’Eglise écoute les jeunes'' (2004) *''Drinken aan de bron: De smaak van het christelijk geloof'' (Halewijn, 2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aerts, Lode 1959 births Living people People from Geraardsbergen KU Leuven alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Bishops of Bruges 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium Belgian expatriates in Italy