Honoré Jozef Coppieters

Honoré Jozef Coppieters (30 March 1874 – 20 December 1947) was a Belgian prelate who became, in 1927, the Bishop of Ghent.[1][2]

His Excellency

Honoré Jozef Coppieters
Episc. Gandavense
DioceseGhent
SeeSt Bavo's
In office1927-1947
PredecessorEmilius Seghers
SuccessorKarel Justinus Calewaert
Orders
Consecration15 May 1927
by Cardinal van Roey
Personal details
Born30 March 1874
Overmere
Died20 December 1947
BuriedGent
NationalityBelgium
ParentsBenedictus Coppieters
Previous postdean of Lokeren
EducationSt. Joseph Minor Seminary
Alma materCatholic University of Leuven
MottoFide et Caritate
Coat of arms

Life

Honoré Jozef Coppieters was born at Overmere[3] in East Flanders, 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, St. Joseph Minor Seminary in Sint-Niklaas and at the Episcopal Seminary in Ghent. He was ordained into the priesthood on 19 December 1896.[4] After that he attended the Catholic University of Leuven, emerging in 1902 with a doctorate and a Master of Theology qualification.

From 1900 till 1920 Coppieters taught Biblical Exegesis and Hebrew at Leuven's Faculty of Theology where he also involved himself in student activism, becoming provost/moderator of the Amicitia radical catholic student fraternity established at Leuven in 1911.[5]

On 29 December 1919 he was appointed dean of Lokeren. 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 of Helenopolis in Bithnia.[6] Seghers died a few months later,[7] 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 in order to complement the organ already in the cathedral.

Ghent Altarpiece

It was also at this time that two panels were stolen from the cathedral's famous van Eyck Altarpiece. 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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8] 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, 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.

Family connections

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

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References
  1. "Geschiedenis". VZW Bachte-Grot, Deinze. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  2. "Mgr. Honoratus Josephus Coppieters". Art in Fanders, Gent. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. "Doodsprentje pastoor Monseigneur Honoré-Jozef Coppieters. °Overmere, +Gent. Leuven, Lokeren, Aalst". Delcampe. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. "Coppieters, Very Reverend Canon Honoré Jozef", The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers, New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 34 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. "Amicitia". 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  6. "Bishop Honoré-Joseph Coppieters †". David M. Cheney. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  7. "Bishop Émile-Jean Seghers †". David M. Cheney. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  8. Noah Charney (2010). "Thieves in the cathedral". Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece. PublicAffairs. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-58648-800-0.
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