Cornelius Van de Ven (June 16, 1865 – May 8, 1932) was a Dutch-born American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as the fourth

Bishop of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episc ...

in Louisiana from 1910 until his death in 1932. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches in Louisiana from 1904 until its dissolution in 1910.

Biography

Early life

Cornelius Van de Ven was born on June 16, 1865, in

Oirschot Oirschot (; ''Orskot'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and town in the province of North Brabant (Noord-Brabant) in the southern Netherlands. It is from Eindhoven and from Tilburg. The municipality had a population of in . Populat ...

, in the southern

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, to Peter Van de Ven and Joanna Maria Roche. After receiving his early education in

Sint-Michielsgestel Sint-Michielsgestel () is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel (municipality), Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands. Geography The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer, Belgium, Peer in Belgium. Just nort ...

, he began his studies for the priesthood and attended the diocesan seminary in Haaren. While still a seminarian, Van de Ven accepted an appeal from Archbishop

Francis Janssens Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (October 17, 1843 – June 9, 1897) was a Dutch-born American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New Orleans from 1888 to 1897. He previously served as Bishop of Natchez from 1881 to 1888. Bi ...

of New Orleans for missionaries in the United States. His uncle, Rev. Cornelius J. Roche, had already immigrated and served as pastor in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Priesthood

Van de Ven was ordained a priest on May 31, 1890, by Adrianus Godschalk, the

bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch The Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The modern diocese was created in 1853. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Utrecht. It is currently led b ...

. He departed from

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) 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 Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

five months later and arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in November 1890. He made his way to Louisiana, where he was immediately appointed assistant pastor of St. Peter's Parish in

New Iberia New Iberia (; ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, and forms part of ...

. Van de Ven served as the founding pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Church in

Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. Jennings is the principal city of the ...

(1891–92) before spending a decade at Immaculate Conception Parish in Lake Charles, Louisiana (1892–1902). From 1902 to 1904, he was pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Bishop of Natchitoches

On August 10, 1904, Van de Ven was appointed to succeed the late Bishop Anthony Durier as bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on November 30, 1904, from Archbishop Placide Chapelle, with Bishops

Thomas Heslin Thomas Heslin (April 17, 1847 – February 22, 1911) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchez in Mississippi from 1889 until his death in 1911. Biography Early life One of seve ...

and Gustave Rouxel serving as co-consecrators, at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. At 39, Van de Ven was one of the youngest Catholic bishops in the country.

Bishop of Alexandria

The most important act of Van de Ven's administration was transferring the seat of the diocese from Natchitoches to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, a railroad town with a large Catholic population. The diocese was renamed the Diocese of Alexandria on August 6, 1910, and St. Francis Xavier Church was designated as the new cathedral. Van de Ven recruited the

Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes based in the U.S. state of Texas. They use the abbreviation C.C.V.I. (). History Houston order The Congregation of the Sisters ...

to the diocese, where they established North Louisiana's first Catholic hospital (Schumpert Medical Center in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

) and St. Joseph's orphanage. He promoted lay organizations and served as state chaplain of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. During his tenure, new churches and parochial schools were established for African-American Catholics in Marksville and

Mansura, Louisiana Mansura is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,419 at the 2010 census. Mansura is home to the Cochon de Lait Festival, and claims to be the Cochon de Lait capital of the world. Geography According to the ...

. In 1929, he was named an

assistant to the papal throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. Cornelius Van de Ven died on May 8, 1932, at Schumpert Medical Center in Shreveport, at age 66.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van De Ven, Cornelius 1865 births 1932 deaths Ven, Cornelius Dutch emigrants to the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Alexandria 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States