Marc Vervenne (born 16 April 1949) is a Belgian

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. From August 2005 till July 2009 he was the rector of the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 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 camp ...

. In 2005, he won the elections for new rector in the third round on Tuesday 24 May 2005 by beating Rik Torfs with 50.81% to 49.19%. Before becoming rector, he was vice-rector of the Human sciences group. On 3 December 2008 the university announced that he would not serve a second term. On 1 August 2009 Mark Waer became the new rector.

Early life

Born in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Vervenne first went to the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

to become a priest, but quit in 1973. He then started work in the construction industry as lorry driver. Later, he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

and in 1986 he received his PhD in theology. He's a specialist of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. He is visiting scholar at the universities of

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

(France) and

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

(Congo). Marc Vervenne is married to Christine De Roo and they have three children: Hannes (1978), Hilke (1980) and Bastiaan (1983).

References

External links

Official website

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vervenne, Marc 1949 births Living people 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic theologians KU Leuven alumni Academic staff of KU Leuven People from Ypres 21st-century Belgian Roman Catholic theologians