Jean de Wachtendonck, Latinized Joannes (1592–1668) was the eighth

bishop of Namur The Diocese of Namur () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province in the metrop ...

, in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

(now in Belgium).

Life

Wachtendonck was born in Mechelen. He studied at

Leuven University KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main campus ...

and graduated

Licentiate of Theology Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. *Licentiate (Pontifical Degree), second cycle of ecclesiastic ...

in 1616. He became a canon of St Rumbold's Cathedral, an ecclesiastical councillor of the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ) was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourg ...

, vicar general and ecclesiastical councillor of the Brussels Council of State. In February 1634 he delivered a formal eulogy of

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Albert ...

(died December 1633) in the cathedral, published as ''Oratio funebris Isabellae Clarae Eugeniae Hispaniarum infantis''. In 1651 he was named

, but his installation was delayed until 1654 due to suspicions of

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

. In Namur he founded a diocesan seminary and held a diocesan synod for the reform of the clergy. He reported favourably to

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

on the cause for the beatification of the Martyrs of Gorcum. In April 1668 he succeeded Andreas Creusen as

archbishop of Mechelen In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

but died in Brussels on the way to his new see."Wachtendonck (Jean de)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 27
(Brussels, 1938), 4–6.

Works

His eulogy of the Infanta Isabella was published as: *''Oratio funebris Isabellae Clarae Eugeniae Hispaniarum infantis'' (Brussels:

Jean Pepermans Jean Pepermans, sometimes Latinized Joannes Pepermannus (active 1620–1635) was a 17th-century printer and bookseller, official printer to the city of Brussels. Very little is known about his life, but he published works by or about some of the ...

, 1634) He was also the author of a life of St Rumbold: * ''Vita, passio, et miracula S. Rumoldi archiepiscopi Dublinensis, Apostoli Mechliniensis & martyris'' (Mechelen:

Henry Jaye Henry Jaye (died 1643) was an English Catholic exile in the Southern Netherlands. He became printer to the city of Mechelen. Life The earliest record of Jaye is in 1606, when the English ambassador in Brussels, Sir Thomas Edmondes, had him summ ...

, 1638) ** ''Het leven 't lyden ende mirakelen vanden H. Rombout'', translated by Franchoys vanden Bossche (Mechelen: Henry Jaye, 1639)

References

1592 births 1668 deaths Bishops of Namur {{Belgium-RC-clergy-stub