Martin-Hubert Rutten (1841–1927), was a

bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Life

Rutten was born in

Geistingen Geistingen is a historic village that is now a submunicipality of Kinrooi, in the Limburg province in the Flemish Community of Belgium. History In the 1st and 2nd century, a Roman camp was located in Geistingen, and the parish of Geistingen has ...

, in the Belgian province of Limburg, on 18 December 1841, and was educated at the minor seminary in

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The mun ...

and the

Diocesan Seminary of Liège The Diocesan Seminary of Liège (in French: ''Séminaire épiscopal'' or ''Grand Séminaire de Liège''), now also Espace Prémontrés, is an educational institution in the Diocese of Liège, founded in 1592. History The seminary was first founded ...

. A. Simon, "Rutten (Martin-Hubert)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 31
(Brussels, 1961), 659-664. He was ordained to the priesthood on 28 April 1867, and taught mathematics at the minor seminary of Saint-Roch (Ferneres) from 1868, becoming director of the school in 1873. In 1875 he was appointed an

honorary canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

, in 1878 rector of the minor seminary in Sint-Truiden, and in 1879 president of the diocesan seminary and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège The Diocese of Liège ( la, Dioecesis Leodiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. The diocese was erected in the 4th Century and presently covers the same territory as Belgium's Liège Pro ...

. In 1888 he became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the cathedral chapter in Liège, and on 26 August 1901 was named bishop. His appointment was supported by

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

, who saw him as a man who would combat the growth of Christian democracy in Liège. Unlike his predecessor, he was opposed to the extension of the franchise, and thought nobody under 30 should be allowed to vote. He was consecrated on 6 June 1902. Rutten was from a Dutch-speaking family and inclined to ''

flamingant The term ''flamingant'', in both Dutch and French, refers to an adherent of the Flemish Movement. Originating as a pejorative term use by Belgian nationalists, it may be equally used as an adjective or substantive and the term ''flamingantisme'' ...

'' ideas, thinking it a matter of pressing importance that ordinary people receive instruction in so far as possible in their native language. During the

First School War The First School War (french: Première guerre scolaire, nl, Eerste schoolstrijd) was a political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education. The School War marks the high water mark of the conflict between the conservative Cathol ...

he interpreted live for Jean-Joseph Thonissen at a political rally in Limburg. He published two articles in '' Het Belfort'', in 1887 and 1892, as well as addressing the Eucharistic Congress held at Hasselt in 1904 in Dutch. He protested against German atrocities and exactions during the German occupation of Belgium during World War I and condemned those who collaborated to obtain language concessions, but immediately after the end of the war he decreed that the Catholic secondary schools in Limburg should switch to Dutch as the main medium of instruction. On 16 November 1925,

Eupen Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the " High Fens" ...

and

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

were removed from the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Cologn ...

and attached to the diocese of Liège. Rutten died in Liège on 17 July 1927. Over the course of his episcopate he had consecrated 120 churches and 24 chapels, to bring the sacraments as close to the people as possible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutten, Martin-Hubert 1841 births 1927 deaths People from Limburg (Belgium) 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium Bishops of Liège