Honoré Jozef Coppieters (30 March 1874 – 20 December 1947) was a Belgian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who became, in 1927, the Bishop of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Life

Honoré Jozef Coppieters was born at Overmere in

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

, the eldest son of Benedictus Coppieters and Maria Sidonia Verstraeten. His father was a farmer. He studied successively at St. Vincent's Catholic college in

Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the city of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the cont ...

St. Joseph Minor Seminary St. Joseph Minor Seminary (Sint-Jozef Klein Seminarie or ''SJKS'') is a Catholic secondary school in Sint-Niklaas, Diocese of Ghent, Belgium. There were previously a Recollect monastery and a seminary on the site. History The first buildings ...

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; , ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sin ...

and at the Episcopal Seminary in

. He was ordained into the priesthood on 19 December 1896."Coppieters, Very Reverend Canon Honoré Jozef", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers'', New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 34
/ref> After that he attended the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

, emerging in 1902 with a doctorate and a Master of Theology qualification. From 1900 till 1920 Coppieters taught

Biblical Exegesis Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

at Leuven's Faculty of Theology where he also involved himself in student activism, becoming provost/moderator of the

Amicitia ''Amicitia'' is the Latin word for friendship, either between individuals, between the state and an individual or between states. It was "a technical term of Roman political life" from the 2nd century BC, when, according to Seneca, it was introdu ...

radical catholic student fraternity established at Leuven in 1911. On 29 December 1919 he was appointed dean of

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

. On 8 August 1924 he transferred as dean of Aalst.

Episcopate

He was appointed coadjutor bishop to Emilius Seghers, the Bishop of Ghent, on 27 January 1927, becoming at the same time the

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 Helenopolis in Bithnia. Seghers died a few months later, and on the same day, 17 May 1927 Coppieters formally took over the Diocese of Ghent. He had been consecrated as bishop two days earlier by Cardinal van Roey. He took as his episcopal motto "Fide et Caritate" (''"By faith and charity"''). In 1935, ahead of the Brussels International Exposition, he purchased an organ constructed by "Johannes Klais Orgelbau" of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

in order to complement the organ already in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Ghent Altarpiece

It was also at this time that two panels were stolen from the cathedral's famous

van Eyck Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch language, Dutch toponymic surname. ''Eijck'', ''Eyck'', ''Eyk'' and ''Eijk'' are all archaic spellings of modern Dutch ("oak") and the surname literally translates as "from/of oak". However, in most cases, the fam ...

Altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

. Coppieters received a ransom note, addressed to him personally on 30 April 1934, apparently sent by the thieves, in which they demanded a million Belgian francs for the safe return of the two stolen panels. Coppieters was prevented by the Belgian prosecuting authorities from paying the ransom on behalf of the church and the civil authorities took over negotiations with the art thieves, insisting that the stolen items were not merely church property but national treasures. Coppieters himself subsequently offered 25,000 Belgian francs for the safe return of the panels which some interpreted as evidencing a lack of commitment to the stolen artwork. In any event, only one of the panels had been returned by 2015, although a copy of the missing one, produced by the restorer

Jef Van der Veken Josephus Maria Van der Veken (also spelled Vander Veken;Biographical details
at the Netherlands Instit ...

, has been substituted in the cathedral.

Death

Honoré Jozef Coppieters died on 20 December 1947, aged 73. His body was buried with those of predecessors in the "Episcopal gallery" in the Burial Ground of St Mary's Church, but on 24 March 1959 he was one of five dead bishops whose physical remains were removed from St.Mary's and placed in the crypt of

St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. It contains the well-known ''Ghent A ...

Family connections

The wife of the Flemish composer and choir director Ernest de Regge, Helène Coppieters, was a niece of Honoré Jozef Coppieters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coppieters, Honore Jozef 1874 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic theologians Bishops of Ghent Academic staff of KU Leuven People from Berlare Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI