Adrianus Herman (Ad) van Luyn, SDB, (born 10 August 1935) is a Dutch 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 ...

. He was the Bishop of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

from 1994 to 2011 and President of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community from 2006 to 2011.

Early life and ordination

Van Luyn was born in Groningen and attended the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of the Salesians in

Ugchelen Ugchelen is part of the municipality of Apeldoorn in the Gelderland province of the Netherlands, and is today seen as a neighbourhood of Apeldoorn. Ugchelen is located South West of Apeldoorn and has about 7000 inhabitants. Like Apeldoorn, the ol ...

. He made his religious vows in 1954. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

Salesian Pontifical University The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a pontifical university in Italy run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It has three campuses, one in Rome, one in Turin, and one in Jerusalem. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of th ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 by Giuseppe Beltrami,

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to the Netherlands. He was provincial superior of the Salesians in the Netherlands from 1975 to 1981. He taught for a time at the Salesians' school attached to the Don Rua monastery in

's-Heerenberg s-Heerenberg is a city on the Dutch-German border, in the Province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It is located about 5 km north of the German Emmerich, and about south of Doetinchem. It received city rights in 1379. 's-Heerenberg is the loca ...

Bishop

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him Bishop of Rotterdam on 27 November 1993 and he was installed in 12 February 1994. From 2008 to 2011 he was President of the Dutch

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

. His motto is ''Collabora Evangelio''. From 2000 to 2006 he was Vice-President and from 2006 to 2011 he was President of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community. In that role in October 2009 he welcomed the Irish vote ratifying the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...

. He said that the treaty would improve communication between the institutions of the European Community (EC) and that the specific assurances given to Ireland would help protect "the right to life, the protection of family and the right of parents to educate their children" throughout the EC.

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 soverei ...

accepted his resignation on 14 January 2011.

References

External links

Biography (in Dutch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luyn, Ad Van 1935 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands People from Groningen (city) Roman Catholic Diocese of Rotterdam Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Salesian bishops