Gerardus Franciscus Amadeus de Bie, O.Cist (16 March 1844 - 25 June 1920) was a Dutch Catholic prelate who served as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Bornem Abbey Bornem Abbey is the only Cistercian abbey of Common Observance in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The current abbey is the successor of the former St. Bernard's Abbey, Hemiksem, destroyed in the French Revolution. Both are built in honou ...

. He later served as the 74th abbot general of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Ministry

In 1862 he entered

, and chose his monastic name in honour of

Amadeus of Lausanne Amadeus of Lausanne, O.Cist ( – 27 August 1159) was a French Cistercian monk, abbot of Hautecombe Abbey and the twenty-third Bishop of Lausanne. Life Early life Amadeus was born around 1110 in the castle of Chatte, west of Grenoble. His ...

. In 1895, after the death of Abbot Robertus van Ommeren, de Bie was elected abbot and consecrated by Cardinal Pierre-Lambert Goossens. De Bie served as Abbot of Bornem until 1900, when he was elected abbot general of the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

, succeeding Leopold Wackarž. De Bie's new appointment required that he move to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he lived in a rented apartment.''The White Monks: A History of the Cistercian Order'' He was succeeded as Abbot of Bornem by Thomas Schoen. De Bie served as abbot general throughout the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He died in Rome in 1920.

References

Belgian abbots People from Bornem Belgian Cistercians Cistercian abbots general Belgian people of World War I 1844 births 1920 deaths 19th-century Christian abbots 20th-century Christian abbots {{Belgium-RC-clergy-stub