Oscar Joliet (13 September 1878 - 3 February 1969) was a scholar-priest who served between 1948 and 1969 as the Auxiliary bishop of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Life

Oscar Jozef Joliet was born in

, third recorded son of the baker, Augustus Joliet (1838-1914) and his wife Lucia Joliet-Ysebaert from

Zelzate Zelzate () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the town of Zelzate proper. In 2021, Zelzate had a total population of 13,124. The total area is 13.71 km2. Zelzate is divided in ...

. He attended school at the

Sint-Barbaracollege Sint-Barbaracollege in Ghent, Belgium, is a private Jesuit school, founded in 1833. It currently includes primary and secondary education. History The school is built on the location of a cloister, the "Sint Barbaraklooster in Jerusalem". The c ...

, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

establishment in the city. Between 1896 and 1905 he attended 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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It was here that he received his doctorate of philosophy on 1 June 1901, and was ordained into the priesthood on 20 September 1902. Still at the Gregorian University, on 30 June 1905 he received his doctorate in theology and on 25 June 1907 he received his doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. In 1907 he returned to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, now based in

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

where on 6 September 1907 he took up an appointment as Professor of Philosophy at the St. Joseph Minor Seminary in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

. He remained at Sint-Niklaas till 1919, when on 7 September he was appointed professor - later also director - at the Episcopal Seminary in

. In Ghent he had also been 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 ...

of the Chapter of Ghent since 1 January 1919. He went back to

in 1927. He took over as president of the

Belgian Pontifical College The Belgian Pontifical College ( nl, Belgisch Pauselijk College; french: Collège ecclésiastique belge; it, Pontificio Collegio Belga) in Rome is a Belgian Catholic educational institution. Founded in 1844, the college is the residence for student ...

on 29 August 1927, remaining in the post till 1945. Returning to Belgium after the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

he became archdeacon and deacon at

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 ...

on 4 September 1945. He became vicar-general in

with special responsibility for training and education on 6 March 1948. On 17 April 1948 Joliet was appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Constantia in Arabia, a necessary corollary for his consecration in June of that year as auxiliary bishop in

. His principal consecrator was

Karel Justinus Calewaert Karel Justinus Calewaert (17 October 1893 – 27 December 1963) was a Belgian Roman Catholic bishop. Life Early years Calevaert was born in Deinze, a small town a short distance to the southwest of Ghent. His father, also named Justinus Calewa ...

who had himself been consecrated

Bishop 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 metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropoli ...

two months earlier. Oscar Joliet died in Ghent on 3 February 1969 some months after his ninetieth birthday. His elder brothers, Edmond (1875-1944) and Edgard (1876-1954), had also been Roman Catholic priests.

References

Clergy from Ghent 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic theologians Belgian schoolteachers 1878 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Belgian educators 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belgium {{bishop-stub