Philippus Rovenius ( nl, Filips van Rouveen; baptised 1 January 1573, in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

– 10 October 1651, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

) was

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of the

Dutch Mission The Holland Mission or Dutch Mission ( or ') (1592 – 1853) was the common name of a Catholic Church missionary district in the Low Countries during and after the Protestant Reformation. History Pre-reformation diocese and archdiocese of ...

from 1614 to 1651.

Life

Rovenius studied 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 ...

, and was ordained priest in 1599. In 1602 he was made president of the Dutch priestly college in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and in 1605

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's ...

of the

diocese of Deventer The Diocese of Deventer is a suppressed former diocese of the Catholic Church in what is now the Netherlands. It was erected in 1559 as a suffragan see to the Diocese of Utrecht, which was raised to an Archdiocese at the same time, at the reques ...

. In 1614 he succeeded

Sasbout Vosmeer Sasbout Vosmeer (13 March 1548, in Delft – 3 May 1614, in Cologne) was the first apostolic vicar to the Dutch Mission and succeeded Frederick Schenck as the second Archbishop of Utrecht (1602–1614). Life Vosmeer's father and mother were both ...

as vicar apostolic. On 8 November 1620, in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, he was consecrated titular archbishop of Philippi. He based himself in

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the city ...

, then

Groenlo Groenlo () is a city in the municipality of Oost Gelre, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, on the German border, within a region in the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek (literally: "back corner"). Groenlo was a municipalit ...

(where he witnessed the Siege of Groenlo in 1627 first hand) and finally

. In 1640 he was banned in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Rovenius succeeded in reorganising the Catholic Church in the Netherlands, trying to introduce the decisions of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

. Although he had become friends with

Jansenius Cornelius Jansen (, ; Latinized name Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres_in_Flanders.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedra ...

in Leuven, he remained faithful to Rome in all things.

Works

*''Het gulden wierookvat'' (''The Golden Censer'', 1620), became popular in the 20th century *''Rituale Romanum contractum'', a breviary containing the offices of saints in the archdiocese of Utrercht and the other dioceses of the Netherlands, used as an ''Officia sanctorum'' until 1853 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rovenius 1573 births 1651 deaths Apostolic vicars of the Holland (Batavia) Mission People from Deventer Old University of Leuven alumni