THE HISTORY OF THE LUXEMBURGWALLOON PROVINCE
Abbreviations
AD. = Archivium Dehonianum (Dehonian Archives)
B. = Boite (Container)
NHV = Notes sur l'Histoire de ma Vie or ‘Memoirs’
of Fr. Dehon
NQ = Notes Quotidiennes or ‘Diary’ of Fr. Dehon
Examples: NHV XIV,
47 = ‘Memoirs’, book XIV, page 47.
NQ IV, 90r - 90v = ‘Diary’, book IV, page 90 recto
- 90 verso.
1. The Province
On the 13th. April 1929 the General Council decided
to apply to the Sacred Congregation for religious to have the Franco-Belgian
province divided into two parts. The rescript was granted on the 35th. May
1929 and the General Council fixed the 1st. of October 1930 as the day when
requested division would come into force. In the meantime all the members
of the Franco-Belgian province were notified to opt for one or other of the
two future provinces, before the 1st. August 1930.
The headquarters of the Belgio-Luxemburg provincialate
was in Brussels, as was the Procure for the mission to the Congo and the
community who were responsible for the important public church of Rue E.
Cattoir. The first provincial superior was Fr. Victor Pauly (1889-1953),
who had already been provincial counsellor from 1923 to 1930. His term as
provincial lasted from 1930 to 1937 and in the meantime he carried out the
functions of Procurator for the Congo missions, which he held until the year
1953, when he died.
The first provincial counsellors were Frs. Gengler,
Delgoffe, Veerkamp and Peffer. Fr. Max De Wulf was elected provincial bursar.
At the beginning the new province was composed of the houses of Brussels,
the novitiate of Brugelette-Frésignies, the scholasticate of Louvain, the
house of administration at Quévy, the three apostolic schools of Clairefontaine,
Tervuren and Lanaken.
In 1947, during the General Chapter, held from
the 16th. to the 19th. of July, a further division of the Province
was proposed, in such a way that Luxemburg would become autonomous. The proposal
was defeated..
In 1953, in the much different context of the North-South
division, the proposal was taken up again at the Chapter held at Howald from
the 1st. to the 4th. of June 1953. The thirteenth General Chapter,
which started on the 7th. of January 1954 in Rome, examined the proposal
to divide the province. A committee comprised of members from the General
Council and delegates from the province was elected and having carried out
an on the spot investigation, they decided that the General Council should
apply to the Holy See for the erection of two viceprovinces. As a result
on the 1st. December 1954 the Luxemburg-Walloon province came into existence.
It was composed of the houses of Burnot, Charleroi, Clairefontaine, Howald,
Luxemburg and Quévy, with a total of 129 religious. Louvain was declared
provisionally utriusque provinciae, while Brussels depended directly on the
General Curia.
The direction of the new vice-province was entrusted
to Fr. Thomas Kaschten, assisted by Frs. Wirtz and Gindt.
In August 1955 the novices were transferred from
Loppem to Cinqfontaines.
In 1960 the vice-province which had a total of
124 religious, became a province and the provincial superior became Fr. Jean
Pierre Gindt, assisted by Frs. Kaschten, Trossen Wirtz and Adam. Fr. May
was elected provincial bursar.
On the 1st. of July 1964 the province of Zaire
was erected. Many of the missionaries from the Luxemburg Walloon province
transferred to the new province. Some months later some of these missionaries
were massacred by the Simba.
On the 1st. May 1965 the scholasticate of Louvain
was attributed to the Flemmish province.
2. The Houses of the Province
Clairefontaine: The history of Clairefontaine was
written by Fr. N. Kayser to celebrate the 75th. anniversary of the foundation
of the house [1]. In this well documented work, one can find the
history of the valley from the Gallic-Roman epoch up to the present day.
Fr. Rasset (1843-1905) wrote to his sister, a missionary
sister, on the 23rd. May 1889: Our Father Superior is leaving for Luxemburg,
where they have invited him to set up a house. Fr. Dehon notes in his Diary
some days earlier: Visit of the Rev. Professor Hengesch of Luxemburg Project
of a foundation at our Lady of Clairefontaine, to recruit m issionaries We
are praying. This project presents itself under favourable auspices (NQ
IV, 84v: 12 - 15 May 1889).
There existed at Clairefontaine during the 18th.
and 19th. centuries an artisan foundry. It belonged to the Simonet family
and in the year 1860 there were still 80 workers employed there. But as a
result of the advent of bigger industries, the foundry closed after the death
of the last owner, Francis Simonet. In 1882, some priests from Luxemburg,
professors at the major seminary, Frs. Berthel and Hengesch, bought a part
of the Simonet property in order to set up a convent for the newly founded
Congregation of Dominican Sisters, founded by Mother Clare Moes. The Dominicans
did not stay there very long. In 1886 the anticlerical protest spread also
to the province of Luxemburg and to the Ąrlon region, from where bullies
came to molest the sisters. As a result the sisters felt too isolated and
decided to return to the city of Luxemburg where they set up house at Limpertsberg.
Faced with the task of occupying the deserted convent
of Clairefontaine Professor Hengesch thought of setting up a centre of spiritual
assistance to the emigrants who were leaving for South America, many of them
from Anversa. At Clairefontaine priests would be trained, and some would
come from Italy, at the decision of Mons. Scalabrin, bishop of Piacenza.
A young priest, who came from Italy, Rev. Henri Degrenne, initiated in 1888
at the abbey of Clairefontaine, the apostolate for the evangelisation of
European emigrants. He succeeded in recruiting some candidates for the priesthood
and he hoped to found a missionary congregation, which would be called the
Congregation of Saint Peter Claver. At the end of the academic year the founder
was taken ill and he did not see through his aim of founding a congregation
which would have had contact with the priests of different dioceses. The
candidates dispersed.
The Rev. Hengesch who, at the beginning of 1889,
had spoken to one of our members on his way to Luxemburg, about Fr. Dehon
(known as a stenographer at Vatican Council I) thought of our Founder as
someone who would continue the work at Clairefontaine.
This was the occasion of the journey of Fr. Dehon
to Luxemburg. He wished to take note of the possibilities. He notes in his
diary: 21 - 23 May. Journey to Luxemburg. Providence has granted us a
great favour. We are going to Clairefontaine. Hopefully we will have a seminary
there for missionaries for the territories of South America and Scandinavia.
This journey to a Christian country is like a dream for a poor native of
St. Quentin. What devotion these people have as I see them crowding to the
pilgrimage of Our Lady of Consolation. The bishops of Luxemburg and Namur
give me a very cordial reception (NQ IV, 84v - 85r).
There was at that time a great zeal for the missions
among the people of Luxemburg, especially for the territories of Norway and
South America. Some seminarians from Ecuador were training in the Seminary
at Luxemburg, intending to devote themselves to the apostolate in the republic
of legendary Garcia Moreno. Frs. Gabriel Grison and Irénée Blanc had left
for Ecuador on the 10th. of November 1888. There was then, a happy coincidence
between this missionary project, the first of the Congregation, and the offer
of the Rev. Hengesch.
Fr. Dehon speaks of his journey to Luxemburg in
a letter to Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart, dated the 24th. May 1889: I
had a very good trip to Luxemburg. All the arrangements have been made. We
will start on the 13th. of June (Saint Anthony of Padua). Send me two sisters
to help us to set up house, two who can speak German. I am writing to Mons
Thibaudier to get permission. The house is called Clairefontaine. It is beside
the station of Eischen, in Luxemburg. All of this seems providential to me.
It is a very sacred place being an old monastery founded by Saint Bernard
People make pilgrimages there and there is also a miraculous fountain. All
is ready. The sisters will find on their arrival that there are two cows,
a poultry-pen etc. A Dominican sister will remain with them for some weeks
in order to help them. The House is dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
(Mater Misericordiae). The building is very beautiful. It will be a house
for seminarians for service in Scandinavia and South America The foundress
of the Dominicans, with whom I have dealt, is a soul who has extraordinary
graces.
Fr. Dehon wrote to the 'chère Mère', the foundress
of the handmaids, who at that time was in Dauendorf in Alsace. At the end
of the letter he makes the following reflection: Doesn't it seem to you
that the terrible dates of the 28th. November and the 4th. of December 1883
(the suppression of the Oblates by Rome) the date of Calvary, has changed
for us to being a date of gratitude... I am happy now to accept the famous
decree (AD, B 18/3).
In his Diary, Fr. Dehon notes on the 12-13 June:
Foundation of the house of Clairefontaine. It is truly Our Lord who has
brought us here. I intend and I hope to train seminarians who will truly
love and serve Him with ardour and simplicity (NQ IV, 85v). He also refers
to a journey made to Anversa, to Malines and to Clairefontaine between the
31st. of July and the 2nd. of August 1889. Fr. Dehon had hoped to found at
Anversa a house for emigrants which would have carried on the work of and
be an extension of Clairefontaine. He notes that Mons. Cartuyvels (the archbishop
of Malines) is interested in the work of Clairefontaine.
Fr. Dehon was very anxious to send word to the
missionaries in Ecuador, very soon tried by many difficulties, of the happy
news of the foundation of a house of recruitment for missionaries for South
America. I am writing to you about our beautiful monastery of Clairefontaine,
beside Arlon There we have a good apostolic school. Fr. James (Herr)
is the superior. With him are Brother Wenceslaus (Francis Otto), Brother
Gertrude (Joseph Zilles), Brother Englebert (Gustav Raab). Five
of our sisters are there to look, after the students and the property
(Letter to Fr. Grison of the 8th. of July 1889, AD. B. 24/8).
To a seminarian (the Rev. Desmis) who sought advice
for a confrère, the Rev. Wecksteen, a professor in the College of Roubaix,
and who wanted to go to South America, Fr. Dehon wrote: At Clairefontaine
we prepare priests for South America, they are however religious priests
of our Congregation (letter of the 12th. of July 1889, AD. B. 18/3).
Some of the first students of Clairefontaine were:
the valiant missionary in Brazil, Jempy Graaf of Perle, also Fr. Peter Keyser
from Schengen (Luxemburg) who died in the Congo after only two years of his
apostolate in 1902. Also to be remembered is Fr. John Haubrich, superior
of Cinqfontaines from 1912 to 1927, with an interruption in 1920. Also belonging
to this first group was Mons. Philippe. All of these students did the spiritual
exercises, at the beginning of September under the direction of Fr. Depre
sj., from Arlon.
Thus the work at Clairefontaine began under the
guidance of Fr. James Herr, a man of great qualification on the pedagogical
level, assisted by Rev. Joseph Thoss who was prefect of studies (who made
his religious profession at Sittard in 1901) and who was appointed to Clairefontaine
after his priestly ordination by Mons. Koppes, the bishop of Luxemburg. Mons.
Philippe wrote of him: Full of ideals, very learned, he made the students
enthusiastic and was excellent from the point of view of studies and discipline.
(Memoirs, Lugdunensia, n. 42, p. 16).
From 1891 to 1896, Clairefontaine also operated
as a scholasticate and was the only scholasticate of the Congregation, because
our students were at Lille, Rome or at St.. Sulpice (Paris).
In 1898 the students left the scholasticate of
Clairefontaine to go to the new one in Luxemburg (Germans) or to Louvain
(to Demi-rue) for the students from other countries, which was under the
guidance of Fr. Willibrordo Triebels, who was the superior of the scholasticate
in Louvain from 1898 to 1902.
Clairefontaine also accepted brother helpers. The
last religious profession at Clairefontaine was in 1903, the year when the
novices left with Fr. Tillmann for the new house in Cingfontaines. Clairefontaine
became the novitiate for German speaking students from December 1928 until
1936.
From the beginning the school at Clairefontaine
had an international character. In 1889 there were thirteen students from
Luxemburg and twenty one from other countries. In the years from 1890 to
1891 the proportion of the latter to the former increased. Among the teaching
staff in 1889 there were three from Luxemburg while there were nine from
other countries. In fact it was only in the period after 1922 that people
from Luxemburg would be in the majority (cf. Memoirs of Mons. Philippe, W,
p. 234, note 1).
Mons. Philippe mentions that they followed the
programme of the University of Luxemburg with particular emphasis on the
French language. In fact they organised 'French days' on which it was obligatory
for the students to speak French.
In 1897, there was an exchange of students and
professors between Clairefontaine and Sittard with the eventual aim of designating
Sittard as a centre for German students who were becoming more numerous.
Clairefontaine kept its character of an international school. The Prefect
of studies was Fr. Jean Batiste Rattaire from Savoy, while Fr. G. Schmitz,
the first German priest to be ordained in the Congregation. left Clairefontaine
for Sittard. About twenty students came from Sittard, among them some of
German origin, like Lennartz, Jacobs, Demont, Storms, who preferred to continue
their studies in French (N. Kayser, o.c., p. 98).
At the end of 1902, Fr. James Herr, who had directed
the house at Clairefontaine for thirteen years, was transferred to Louvain,
as Rector of the new scholasticate, established provisionally in a part of
the old convent of the Annunciate (Demi-rue).
His successor at Clairefontaine was Fr. G. Benedict
Lequeux (1861 to 1908) who had directed the scholasticate of Luxemburg from
1895 to 1902. He was a very active man. Unfortunately he did not enjoy good
health. In 1907 he had to retire and died some months later, at the house
of his brother, parish priest of Fieulaine (Aisne). Fr. Lequeux, in the first
few months of his rectorship, witnessed the departure of the handmaids of
the heart of Jesus, who had looked after the house for thirteen years. On
this occasion Fr. Dehon wrote a letter thanking the 'chère mère', the foundress
of the handmaids (AD. B 19/1). The sisters are leaving our houses.. Many
sacrifices are demanded off me, one after the other, so be it! ... Thus
wrote Fr. Dehon in his Diary (NQ XVII, 14, 148: July 1902).
The handmaids were replaced by the sisters of the
Sacred Heart, who had their mother house in Britain. In 1903 the hydro-eletric
installations were constructed in the old mill. It was a novelty in those
times. Fr. Herr was in charge of the project with the help of a professor
from the major seminary, Rev. Woltrink (cf. N. Kayser o.c., p. 99).
A great change came among the students of Clairefontaine,
when the apostolic schools of Bergen op Zoom in Holland was opened 1900 and
that of Tervuren in Belgium was subsequently opened in 1904. Clairefontaine,
from being an international school confined itself to students from Luxemburg
and Alsace-Lorraine. Among those who were its superiors up to the First World
War we recall especially, Fr. E. Broville (1879 - 1940), Fr. S. Glod (1879
- 1912) and Fr.
N. Gengler. Fr. Glod was especially
unpopular among the religious because of his rather irritating attitude as
a reformer.
The tragic events of July-August 1914 took the
inhabitants of Clairefontaine by surprise as they celebrated the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the foundation of their house. Students and professors left
the house and there only remained a small number priests, students and brothers.
However the house began to function again in November 1915, but with great
difficulty from many points of view, not least because the superior had to
retire in consequence of his ill-health. He was replaced by Fr. Alphonsus
Weber, who had been imprisoned in Bonn under the charge of having helped
French prisoners to escape. Fr. Arsène Schmit (1880-1938) was also captured
at Simmern, the village where he was born, under the accusation of being
a possibly 'spy', being as he was a Belgian professor. He was brought on
a goods truck with his hands tied behind his back, as far as Treviri. The
students were able to resume their studies at Louvain when the scholasticate
was liberated after the personal intervention of Father Founder.
The post war period saw the school grow further,
and starting from 1925 a steady flow of students went each year to the novitiate
at Brugelette.
In 1927, the magazine Heimat and Mission (Fatherland
and Mission) began with the collaboration of Frs. Meder, G. Keup and N. Kayser.
At the death of Fr. Meder (1888-1927) things looked gloomy but however one
put one's faith in Providence. The magazine became a means of propaganda
and indirectly of financial income for the house which had always been in
a precarious position because of its particular situation. The school was
sited in Belgium, far away from its recruitment area and from possible benefactors.
It was little known in Luxemburg itself before the publication of 'Heimat
and Mission'. On more than one occasion Fr. Dehon had to intervene and pay
the money owed to debtors.
Important additions were carried out in the years
1923-1924 and 1931-1932.
In 1928 the school became exclusively a school
for Luxemburg students, and as a result the French professors, especially
those from Alsace-Lorraine, returned to France and the students from Lorraine
were sent to the Apostolic school of Viry-Chatillon, founded after the division
of the Franco-Belgian province into two parts.
During the Second World War the trials of the 1914218
war were experienced again. Separation from ones mother-land, difficulty
in recruiting and in obtaining supplies were the order of the day. But the
students remained in their place courageously, far from their families. The
superior, Fr. N. Kayser and the bursar, Fr. F. Hertges (1897-1977) were interned
in Germany under the accusation of having given hospitality to a German deserter,
who lived in Luxemburg. They were imprisoned from 1943 to 1944.
As was the case after the First World War, we continued
to work courageously and many young people, tempered by many trials, offered
themselves to the Lord in the novitiate of Brugelette, and later at Loppem
and finally at Cingfontaines. Nevertheless there had been a profound change
in the world of young people. The scholastic population of our minor seminaries
lived in unison with the other young people. Furthermore the traditional
missionary ideal was completely transformed, following the autonomy of the
young churches of Africa and Asia.
As in the case of the other apostolic schools,
Clairefontaine, while retaining the name of apostolic school, became a college,
in which vocations were not lacking but where there was a difficulty of turning
them into positive commitment. Here we must note, that thanks to the efforts
of Fr. Kayser and with the support of the National Federation for Free Teaching
in Belgium, the courses were recognised as being valid for obtaining the
diploma which made one eligible for inscription at the University. All this
took place in 1929.
Thanks to the campaign carried out by the Belgian
Catholics to obtain grants for the running costs of the free schools and
professors salaries, the school at Clairefontaine was able to benefit from
these advantages. Unfortuneately these grants are limited for foreigners
who are studying in Belgium.
In order to accomodate the increasing number of
students in the last few years, it has been necessary to make further additions.
Burnot - Profondeville: In 1933, a new language law made it obligatory
in the future to use the language spoken in the region as the medium through
which students were taught. An exception was made in the case of students
who had commenced their studies of the humanities in a specific language.
Vocations from Walloon, few in number, had up to
now gone to Tervuren. Fr. Pauly began to look for a site where he could open
an apostolic school in the South of Belgium. Such a site soon became available.
The Canonesses of St. Augustine, founded by St. Peter Fourrier (1565-1640),
in 1597, under the title of the Congregation of Our Lady, with the help of
B. Alice Le Clerc (1576-1622) and subsequently expelled from Reims, following
the Combes persecution laws, wished to sell the college which they had in
Pelgium at Burnot-Riviere. In fact the political horizon in France had become
clearer after the first world war and the old house of the Sisters of Our
Lady, at Rheims, had risen from the ruins. These religious who had only sojourned
in Belgium, wished to come together at Rheims and thus sought a buyer for
their house in Burnot.
The Canonesses had bought a castle in 1903, which
belonged to the de Pierpont family (also called di Burnot), a castle in which
the Belgian writer Camille Lemonier had lived (1844-1913). The sisters had
built three new buildings, where there were training courses and also primary
schools needed for the young who wished to take on a teaching career. Here
it is necessary to add that the population of the region always remember
with gratitude the Mothers of Burnot who had given to their children an education
which distinguished them from all others.
Furthermore, a cement factory was built near by
and as a result contaminated very seriously the narrow valley of the 'Burnot',
the little river which cut through the property. The serious crisis of the
1930's contributed to a slowing down in the activity of the factory but it
began full production again for twenty years in 1933.
Fr. Pauly, founder of the school, as provincial
at that time, found, according to his own words: the occasion enticing, and
later he regrets that it was not completely as it appeared to him. He described
the house of Burnot in the following manner: a beautiful property in a
perfect stale of conservation (and it was true), a spacious property in a
tranquil and verdant ambience, a salubrious air... One can read this
description in the Reign of the Sacred Heart of Louvain (1933, p.154ff.).
The deeds were handed over on the 21st March 1933. It was also decided that
the house would be used during the holidays by the students from Louvain.
In reality it was probably the particularly favourable
condition which the owners offered which drew the attention of Fr. Pauly
(Le Règne..., ibid).
Mons. Heylen, the bishop of Namur, had listened
very favourably to the request that our congregation should establish itself
in his diocese, where there were already 14 apostolic schools or minor seminaries,
with the consequent difficulties in recruitment.
On the 15th. March our first three religious went
to Burnot, where they found some of the sisters who were vacating the house.
The work of adapting the house was difficult and all had to work hard doing
all types of jobs. On this occasion, Fr. G. Blavier (1902-1958), a late vocation,
showed his talents as a good carpenter. He had learned the trade from his
father. From his early days he had always confided in Rev. Cardijn, founder
of the young Christian workers, JOC, and later cardinal, regarding his wish
to become a priest and he came to Tervuren as a late vocation.
In September the new apostolic school of Burnot
began with the three lower classes. Some of the students came from Tervuren
(Walloon students) and from the recruiting that had been done in Walloon.
Our priests soon came to have a good relationship
with the diocesan clergy. Within the house there was a. great family spirit,
between students and professors. The students were not too numerous and the
professors dedicated themselves to them in a spirit of love.
The first students entered the novitiate in 1938.
The second World War came and disturbed the life of the house and many of
the Belgian professors were enlisted. In May 1940 there came the enforced
evacuation of the Mosa zone. Finally in September 1940, after a lively exodus,
many religious of the congregation and community came together at Neussargues
in Chantal (France) and regular courses began again. Thanks to the work of
the superior, Fr. Balthasar (1909-1952) things went well from the point of
view of the indispensable supplies until the end of the war regime (1946).
Here it is necessary to point out that the house
at Burnot was used by a part of the students and professors from Louvain
who took refuge there after the bombings of 1944.
During the rectorship of Fr. Thomas Kaschten, the
standard of education was quite high. The need to reconstruct the house at
Bumot became more evident in the following years. The old buildings of the
castle were demolished to make way for a more attractive and well planned
building.
To avail of the new school laws, which set a certain
minimum of students per class in order to be eligible for state grants, it
was necessary, under the rectorship of Fr. Armand Maloteaux, to construct
supplementary class halls.
It is important to note here that the professors
of the two schools of Clairefontaine and of Burnot-Profondeville remained
faithful to their task, despite the changes of regime, set out by the official
teaching and by the orientations which came from the `base', that is from
the scholastic world of the youth. All of the religious teachers of our schools
dedicated themselves seriously to the intellectual Christian formation of
their students. Even if they do not have the consolation of seeing a change
or progression which is sufficient, they continue in their dedication to
the youth of today, knowing that the future is in the hands of God.
It became necessary to employ an ever increasing
number of lay professors. It is a question of life or death for our schools.
In fact it is true sometimes that these young lay professors have a Christian
ideal which at times would make religious jealous.
The Novitiates of Manage - Brugelette - Loppem
- Cinqfontaines: As is known,the
first novitiate of the Congregation was that of the house of the Sacred Heart
at St. Quentin. It was only in 1879 that the spiritual exercises, proper
to a novitiate, began at the house of the Sacred Heart. It continued until
the beginning of 1883, the year in which Fr. Francis Xavier Lamour assumed,
the functions of master of novices at Watersleyde (Holland). The anniversary
of the foundation of the novitiate of Watersleyde was celebrated on the 5th.
February (AD. B 19/4). Fr. Andrew Prévot succeeded Fr. Lamour at the beginning
of October 1886 and simultaneously held the functions of master of novices
and superior of the community.
While awaiting the division of the Institute into
two provinces it was decided to create a novitiate for those from French
speaking areas. Fr. A. Prévot was then appointed as master of novices of
the future western province and he started, on the 25th. September 1907,
with eighteen novices in the castle of Manage at Meslin l'Evêque, so called
because Fénelon, the archbishop of Cambrai, stayed there during the summer.
The students at Saint Cement's (Fayet) had. been transferred in the meantime
to Mons to an old house of the sisters of Saint Maria (NQ XXIII, 96).
The 'Castle' of Meslin, situated close to Ath (Belgium)
was only a small country house, with a small garden and a lake. There were
very few rooms, but nevertheless, the life lived by the students was that
of a regular novitiate.
During the seventh General Chapter of 1908 held
in Louvain, the division of the Institute into two provinces was decided
upon, the Eastern and the Western. Fr. Dehon notes in his Diary: This
is a great step forward for the Congregation. Oh that it be possible that
the Heart of Jesus will find it to his glory. There were sixteen votes in
favour and fourteen against (NQ XXIV, 48). It would seem that Fr. Dehon
counted abstentions among the negative votes. In any case the majority was
fairly narrow. The Chapter also decided to introduce a month of Renewal,
to be held every three years. Fr. Dehon writes: I expect great benefit
from this month. It will be the salvation of the Work (NQ XXIV, 123).
The General Council held at Brussels on the 6th.
January 1909 elected Fr. Andrew Prévot as provincial of the new western province.
The counsellors were Frs. Van Halbeek, Mailer, Broville, Hermans. Fr. Prévot
and Fr. Dehon were appointed to preach the homilies at the masses of renewal
in the various houses. It was impossible for Fr. Prévot to continue as master
of novices and he was succeeded by Fr. Paul Augustin Jacquemin (1875-1964).
It was a great change as Fr. Prévot was considered as master of novices par
excellence. Now all the houses of the new province were put in contact with
a true saint. Father Founder preached the spiritual exercises to the novices
from the 16th. to the 24th. of September 1909, taking as his theme,
The life of Union with Our Lord (NQ XXIV, 123).
In 1912, the novitiate of the western province
was transferred to Rrugelette (Belgium), not far away from Meslin - l'Evêque.
For some time previously the Scouvémont family, through Fr. Falleur, had
expressed the wish to house in its castle and farm at Brugelette, the religious
who were expelled. from France. From 1901, Fr. Dehon had been thinking of
founding at Brugelette a house for Flemmish vocations (Letter to Fr. Falleur
of the 21st. December 1901, AB. B. 20/8).
In 1902, Fr. Dehon went to Brugelette, to the Castle
of Frésignies, where the property of the Scouvémont family was situated,
and administered. after the death of the parents by one of their daughters,
Amata. Fr. Dehon wished to survey personally the possibility of setting up
a religious community. He wrote in his diary that he had made the visit on
the 21st. October 1902, that he was received with warmth by the Scouvémont
family, and of having received promises of great generosity in the case of
the apostolic school of Fayet being suppressed in France (cf. NQ XVIII, 26).
All this happened in April of 1903 (NQ XVIII,52). The school of Saint Clement
of Fayet camped at Frésignies (Brugelette) for five months with the superior
Fr. Herbemont. 'Camped' is the opportune word! The study hall was in the
veranda of the castle and Amata made her unexpected visits to check the exercises
of the students.
In the following years the religious of Fr. Dehon
also came to Frésignies and there they added on a wing which prolonged the
castle.
The school of Saint Clement was set up in September
1903 in a country house, not very far from Ath, in the 'Castle of Manage'.
However the house was very small and there was only enough room for twenty
students. When a guest house became available in Mons, Fr. F. Heberle seized
the opportunity and transferred the school of Saint Clement there. In 1919
there was further movement to Thieu (Hainaut) and then to Blaugies still
in Hainaut.
The return to Brugelette came because Amata Scouvémont
had a very happy recollection of Fr. Prévot, and offered her property to
the Fathers of the Sacred Heart with the promise to vacate. On the 21st.
June Fr. Dehon passed through Brugelette and there he found 15 novices who
were in formation, under the guidance of Fr. Jacquemin, master of novices
and superior (NQ XXXIV,104).
At the end of 1912 Fr. Falleur, bursar general
of the congregation, started the work of St. Francis Xavier at Brugelette.
We have started a house for vocations at Brugelette, under the auspices
of Saint Francis Xavier This work will be blessed... Thus wrote Fr. Dehon
in his diary (NQ XXXIV, 177).
Fr. Andrew, although having replaced Fr. A. Charcosset
as 'assistant', still went to live at Brugelette. In this way he was able
to assist spiritually with great results the surrounding communities. He
died on the 26th. November 1913. Fr. Founder wrote in his diary: My saintly
assistant Fr. Andrew is dead Everybody says that he was a saint. He practiced
the counsels of perfection heroically, every day (NQ XXXV, 62 -63).
The 1914-1918 war came. The late vocations of Frésignies,
as indeed the novices returned to their countries. More than a quarter of
the students of the School of Saint Francis Xavier died during the war. In
1921 the school for late vocations was transferred to France, to Domois (Côte
d'Or).
It was only in 1925 that the novitiate of Brugelette
began to function with some consistency. The schools started to send a consistant
number each year to the religious life.
It was in this last year of his life that Fr. Dehon
was occupied with the reorganisation of the spiritual life at Brugelette.
On the second day of his illness he appointed Fr. Philippe to go to the Father
Provincial of the Jesuits in order to get a spiritual director for the novitiate
(Memoirs of Mons. Philippe, III, 159).
Fr. Leopold Mahiat was given the appointment and
for twelve years lie looked after the spiritual formation of the future missionaries
of Fr. Dehon. Fr. Mahiat died at Brugelette in October 1940, having left
a very important mark on the spiritual formation of the members of the Institute.
In 1931 the French novices left Brugelette for
the new novitiate of Boutillerie-lez-Amiens. Fr. Charles Kanters (1874-1944)
was elected as master of novices until 1934. He was succeeded by Fr. Emile
Peffer (1895-1941) who was nominated Counsellor General in the Chapter of
1935. His post as superior and master of novices was taken until 1945 by
Fr. Peter van Hommerich.
Fr. Peffer had planned a series of new constructions
at Brugelette, because many of the old ones were falling; but having become
Counsellor General, the plan was not realised. Fr. Jacquemin constructed
a new chapel in a neo-gothic style. A Grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes was also
built under the direction of Brothers Louis Gardella and N. Kinsch.
The period of the Second World War was not too
heavy for the novitiate, because there was a good farm nearby. There was
the danger of frequent bombardments because of the proximity of the air field
of Chièvres.
The new direction of the province wished to found
a house in Flanders,transferring the novitiate, more readily acceptable to
the bishops than an apostolic school. A very good property of six hectares
was acquired just 7 kilometres from Bruges. On the 13 December 1936 the Community
of the novitiate was transferred there. Fr. A. van Nuffel was the superior
and Fr. M. Denis succeeded Fr. van Hommerich in August 1945 as master of
novices.
The house at Brugelette had been destined as a
centre for abandoned children but as time went on it became clear that it
was not suitable for such. The centre was transferred to Opdorp (eastern
Flanders) in 1948. The property at Brugelette was sold and the chapel was
demolished by the new owner.
The novitiate at Loppem took the name of St. John,
like that of the first novitiate at Watersleyde. Life there was more pleasant
than at Brugelette and the novices were often requested for supplementary
work in the surrounding countryside. There was also a park to look after
as well as many other duties for the novices at Ter Loo, (the name of the
area where the novitiate at Loppem was situated).
A little castle was home to the community; but
it soon became evident that it was too small to house the postulants and
novices of four apostolic schools. After various projects an extension was
built on to the castle (1948-1949). The new novitiate was blessed by the
provincial Fr. A. Janssen on the 22nd. August 1949.
In the provincial chapter which was held in 1953
the possibility of dividing the Belgio-Luxemburg province into two vice provinces
was raised. Having investigated the possibilities, Fr. Lellig (1909-1958)
obtained the rescript from the Holy See which came into operation on the
1st. December 1954. Frs. Kessels and Kaschten were nominated vice provincials,
respectively of the Flemmish Province and of the Luxemburg-Walloon Province.
Later a rescript of the Holy See (4th. April 1955)
authorised the erection of the novitiate in the house at Cinqfontaines, transferred
from the German province to the vice province of Luxemburg-Walloon. In August
1955 the novices of the new vice province left Loppem for Cinqfontaines.
The changeover was difficult: from the small rooms at Loppem to the delapidated
house of Cinqfontaines, although restorations had been in progress from some
time. However the situation soon improved and twenty rooms were made available.
The building was also used during the summer period for summer schools, in
which the students from Louvain were involved.
As time went on the number of novices became smaller.
They were sent to the houses Amiens and later to the Scholasticate at Lyons
in order to have a large enough group for practical reasons.
The house at Cinqfontaines continued to support
eventual novices and seminarists. An annual programme of spiritual exercises,
retreats and weekends justified our remaining on at Cinqfontaines.
The houses at Luxemburg - Howald - Charleroi -
Quévy
Luxemburg: After the first world war the idea of continuing
the German scholasticates at Limpertsberg became more difficult. The currency
had been devalued and there was a lack of resources. On the other hand the
German governement allowed the foundation of religious houses. Having stayed
in various localities (Sayn-Wittgenstein, Bendorf, Innsbruck, Dillingen)
Fr. Frässle who had been in the Congo was given the task of founding a new
house at Freiburg-in-Breisgau, which is an episcopal city and has a university.
The project was successful as though by a miracle writes Mons. Philippe in
his Memoirs (11,30). The old scholasticate in Luxemburg was sold to the Sisters
of Saint Elizabeth. The students from Luxemburg came there in 1927 but it
was only after 1932 that there was place for everyone. At this time the German
province was going through a particularly difficult time from an economic
point of view.
Some of the priests (Weiskopf, Wiese...) remained
on at Limpertsberg in a small house which they had rented. On the 11th. June
1923 Fr. Weiskopf (1874-1934) bought a bigger house in the Bd de L'Alzette
(now the Bd d'Avranches). He was superior there until 1926 when he became
a general counsellor. Fr. Arnold (1879-1933) was his successor and enlarged
the building, and was responsible for the construction of the chapel there.
In 1930 the house was acquired by the Belgio-Luxemburg province and eventually
became the headquarters of the Provincial. In 1967 it was further enlarged
with the acquisition of an adjacent house.
The house in Luxemburg has been very successful
in its mission, above all as a centre of worship and as a centre for confessions
for the faithful and clergy, a work which it still continues.
Howald: The enterprising Fr. G. Keup had the idea of founding
another house in the suburbs of Luxemburg in 1937. For some time the priests
who were available, among them Fr. Andrew Wolf, had preached frequently giving
retreats and the spiritual exercises in the region. In 1938, six priests
of the Sacred Heart order, among them Fr. Schunck, the German provincial,
participated in the large mission in Luxemburg, from the 3rd. to the 17th. of April. The necessity of a house that
would cater for the spiritual exercises became more evident. An. area of
three hectares in a place called Howald, in the borough of Hespérange, 2
kilornetres from the south of the capital, was bought.
It was also the intention of the founders to supply
priests who would look after the spiritual needs of an area that was developing
rapidly. On the 24th. October 1939 the house was officially opened. In 1941
the priests in Howald were expelled as were those in Luxemburg. The house
passed from the hands of the nazis, who did. much damage to it, to the Americans.
It was the headquarters of the nazi youth, and also of the Americans, and
finally a military hospital. Fr. A. Wolf went back there as Catholic chaplain.
After many other vicissitudes the community began to function regularly at
the end of 19,45 as a community dedicated to preaching. Fr. Daubenfeld (1913-1976)
was nominated administrator and designated diocesan General assistant to
the JOC in Luxemburg. The house was reorganised for closed days of spiritual
exercises and retreat days. Soon the diocese built the parish church of Howald.
As a result the fathers and the house were more easily available for their
specific mission. In 1972 the provincialate was transferred from Luxemburg
to Howald.
In the years 1965-1966 there seemed to be a failing
off in the demand for the spiritual exercises among the young people. All
the efforts of renewal in this field have not shown any appreciable results
so far.
Charleroi: For quite some time there had been a desire to
open a house in the province of Liege, possibly in a working class centre.
A friend of the congregation, Rev. Heyen, invited the Provincial to set up
a community in his parish of Ougrée. The negotiations concluded on the Ist.
October l.9,45. Mons. Kerkhofs granted the authorization. The house that
was being used by Frs. Lenz and Kenp was very small. Everywhere there were
still the ruins of the war. It was December 1945. The church, the presbytery,
the parish hall were all unusable. Mass was celebrated in - an hovel. It
was soon evident that there was very little future in the work.
The superiors wanted a parish in the populated
centre of Charleroi. In a suburb of the city, the Dominican Fathers wished
to transfer the responsibility for a parish they had to some other hands.
Mons. Carton de Wiart was very happy to give the parish of Broucheterre to
the Fathers of the Sacred Heart.
In January 1947, Fr. Balthasar (1909-1952) was
nominated pańsh priest and Frs. Keup and Lardo were appointed curates. Fr.
Nihoul later joined the community; he was destined for the preaching ministry.
Fr. Balthasar was substituted in October of 1947
by Fr. Lardo (1908-1959) as parish priest, while Fr. de Neef took a particular interest in the numerous
Flemmish families in the region. Both of these priests were appreciated as
apostles by the humble people. Both of them died very young leaving very
much grief among the people they had served.
Fr. Lardo was noted for his dedication to improving
the teaching of Christian doctrine. Fr. Keup who succeeded him as parish
priest continued this tradition, despite the many difficulties and contradictions
which he encountered.
In the meantime the parish had changed radically.
All the old buildings had been demolished and been replaced by attractive
new buildings, but the population of the area was basically unstable. The
parish was in a position, through Fr. A. Gardella, to be of service to the
Italian mission in the area.
Quévy: The house at Quévy was founded in 1903, when the
priests who had been working in the north of France were expelled from the
house of the Sacred Heart in St. Quentin, by order of the French government.
It was for this reason that Fr. Delgoffe and Fr. Kanters left for Belgium.
Mons. Walravens received them into his diocese and offered them the sanctuary
of Our Lady of Lourdes at Quévy, near the border.
A priest, Rev. Hachez, who for the first time,
in Belgium, had constructed a modest Lourdes grotto, built a small church
with a simple house for priests nearby. Our priests set themselves up there
provisionally in the hope of better times to come and are still there after
75 years.
They provide a service to the pilgrimage, which
culminates on the Monday of Pentecost. The population has for the most part
turned away from Christianity, but in any case they have retained the habit
of going 'to serve' or in pilgrimage to this or that sanctuary, especially
in the event or bad luck of illness.
The principal task of the fathers was preaching,
at which some of them excelled. Here we recall especially Fr. Paul Delgoffe
(1861-1943) who was professed in 1882. He preached many missions and spiritual
exercises with great success, due largely to his convincing manner, his ascetic
aspect and his penitence. During many of the missions which he preached he
often slept on the bare floor or spent the night in prayer in the church.
He was inclined perhaps to exaggerate but he was also humble and was able
to acknowledge his faults, as he did in a letter to Fr. Dehon, begging his
pardon for having believed certain lies against the Founder (AD. B. 18/6).
Nobody was able to speak as eloquently about the life of love and immolation,
the foundation of our vocation, as he was.
Fr. Paris and Fr. Lamour, the first master of novices,
spent their last years in Qu6vy and Fr. Lamour died there in 1921. Fr. Nihoul
(1889-1956) the great apostle of the working class spent many years at Quévy
and was superior there from 1929 to 1935. He wished to set up a centre for
spiritual exercises for workers at Qu6vy. With this in mind he erected a
beautiful chapel and started other constructions. Unfortunately he got very
little cooperation and he remained more or less isolated.
Unfortunately it was necessary to sell the property
at Quévy. It was the first house that the Province abandoned in the present
crisis. A priest, parish priest of the parish, stayed on at the church.
APPENDIX
1. The Franco-Luxemburg Mission in Paris: It is one of the 17 national missions, founded
by Mons. Chaptal, to serve the 20.000 natives of Luxemburg resident in Paris.
The Mission has an interesting history. It was started by the Jesuits to
serve the numerous German and Austrian workers who lived in the French Capital.
Among these Jesuits was Fr. Modeste who played an important rôle at the foundation
of our congregation. He directed the German mission until September 1865
and he made many of the arrangements for the construction of the Church which
was blessed in 1866 and called the Church of St. Joseph of the Germans. On
the eve of the war in 1870, 15 Jesuits were involved full time at the German
mission. They had schools and many other facilities. On Sunday they distributed
communion to over 1,000 people. After 1870 the ministry of the Jesuits was
directed more to the exiles of Alsace Lorraine. With the laws of 1880 only
the superior could remain in a religious house. In 1903 the church and the
house of the Jesuits were confiscated. A German secular priest, Prince Maximillian
of Saxony,professor at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) redeemed
the Church and a part. of the property, while some of the Jesuit Fathers,
now called Reverend were able to continue the ministry.
In 1914, the Church and the mission of Saint Joseph
were taken over but were allowed to remain open for worship. The faithful
of German origin had decreased in numbers at this stage and it was necessary
to have the mass in two languages. In 1924 President Herriot, restored the
Church and property to their legitimate owner, the Prince Maximillian of
Saxony, who in agreement with the Cardinal at the time, Cardinal Dubois,
decided to make the chapel a public church for the surrounding area, while
retaining the mission for foreigners, in particular those coming from Luxemburg.
A building, which was constructed due to the generosity of the Count of Fels
took on the name of 'France- Luxemburg'. On the advice of the bishop of Luxemburg,
the archbishop of Paris entrusted the running of the Church of Saint Joseph
to the Fathers of the Sacred Heart. That was in 1926. The history of the
Church of Saint Joseph is recounted by Fr. M. Magnin scj.: (Une église de
Paris. Saint Joseph artisan. Chez l'auteur, 216 rue Lafayette - Paris 1966).
During wretched events of the second World War,
when Frs. Stoffels and Wampach were deported to Dachau, where they died,
the mission received a severe blow.
After the war the mission became and less necessary
because of the diminishing number of foreigners. In 1958 Cardinal Feltin
made the Church of St. Joseph into an autonomous parish with a population
of about 23,000 inhabitants.
The Priests of the Sacred Heart at Brussels: The man who was responsible for this house is Fr.
Jeanroy, who as bursar at Clairefontaine, came quite often to visit the benefactors
in Brussels, and he had occasion to get to know an architect called Bekkers
and the Viscount de Meeus, who asked him to take responsibility for a modest
church dedicated to St. Anthony and situated in the zone of Ixelles. In the
meantime the area became quite populated and the archbishop of Malines, Mons.
Goossens, was very happy to have the Fathers of the Sacred Heart in the area,
and thus approved their foundation.
Fr. Jeanroy was appointed as procurator of the
Congo mission. The diocese had at this stage built a parish church. Fr. Jeanroy
rented a house at Bd Militaire in 1900, and having obtained a site opened
a small chapel which was blessed in 1902.
In 1903 the mother-house of the Congregation was
transferred from Saint Quentin to Brussels (NQ XVIII, 44). Fr. Jeanroy dedicated
himself to his task as procurator ans was at the same time the apostle of
the area, impressing everyone with his sanctity.
Later Frs. Ramade and van Halbeek enlarged the
church as far as possible. Great work had been done in 75 years. The Chapel
for Eucharistic Devotion saw a decline in popularity after the liturgical
reform.
After the death of Fr. Founder in 1925, the transfer
of the General Curia from Brussels to a location beside the Temple of Christ
the King in Rome was set in motion.
M. Denis scj.