Mathias Hovius

Mathias Hovius (1542–1620), born Matthijs Van Hove, was the third Archbishop of Mechelen from 1596 to 1620. As Archbishop, Hovius presided over implementing the Catholic Reformation in the Spanish Netherlands.

Mathias Hovius
Archbishop of Mechelen
Matthias Hovius – by Lucas Franchoys the Elder (attributed)
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseMechelen
SeeSt. Rumbold's Cathedral
Installed1596
Term ended1620
PredecessorJoannes Hauchin
SuccessorJacobus Boonen
Orders
Ordination1566
Consecration18 February 1596
Personal details
Born1542
Died30 May 1620
Affligem
BuriedSt. Rumbold's Cathedral
Alma materUniversity of Leuven
MottoSuperat Patientia Fortem (Patience Overcomes the Strong)

Early career

Hovius was born in Mechelen in 1542; his father was a fuller. Hovius attended the Standonck College in Mechelen, and later studied theology and philosophy at Leuven University, and was ordained priest in 1566, the year iconoclasm broke out in the Netherlands. While pastor at Saints Peter and Paul's Church in Mechelen, Hovius witnessed the Spanish Fury at Mechelen in 1572, and the English Fury at Mechelen in 1580, both during the Eighty Years' War.[1]

Vicar-General

Hovius was appointed vicar-general of the archdiocese of Mechelen upon the death of Archbishop Joannes Hauchin in 1589.[1]

Archbishop

In 1596, Hovius was consecrated the third Archbishop of Mechelen.[1] Among his accomplishments were the founding of a seminary[2] and the creation of a catechism with help from the Jesuits. The Mechelen Catechism remained a standard in Catholic religious education in Belgium until well into the twentieth century.

On 14 November 1599 he installed Joanne Berkeley as the first abbess of a new Benedictine convent in Brussels. The new convent had been approved by the pope and the local authorities and it was funded by Mary Percy who was one of the first nuns.[3]

In 1607, Hovius convened a provincial council in Mechelen to implement the decrees of the Council of Trent in the archdiocese.[2] After an official enquiry, in 1604, Hovius approved the cult of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, [4] In 1606, the newly constructed shrine received a papal indulgence. He also promoted the veneration of the Martyrs of Gorkum. He was supported in his efforts by Albert and Isabella of Austria, Governors-General of the Spanish Netherlands.

Archbishop Hovius died on 30 May 1620 during a canonical visitation to Affligem Abbey.

References

  • Laenen, Kan. Dr. J. (1930), Geschiedenis van het Mechelsch Seminarie vanaf het Episcopaat van Aartsbisschop Matthias Hovius tot onder Z.E. Kardinaal van Roey, Mechelen, Gebr. Laurent, 393 pp.
  • Harline, C. E. & Put, E. (2000), A bishop's tale: Mathias Hovius among his flock in seventeenth-century Flanders, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-08342-4 (Cloth); ISBN 0-300-13054-6 (Electronic), ISBN 978-0-300-08342-2 (Cloth); ISBN 978-0-300-13054-6 (Electronic)


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