Bishop Ludovicus van Hoogenhuyze of the
Netherlands
On Friday, 24 October 1997, the Dutch Emeritus
Regionary, bishop Ludovicus, passed into the Higher Life. It was a young Louis Carol Elise
van Hoogenhuyze, born in 1914, who came into contact with the Theosophical Society and The
Liberal Catholic Church, which organisations intrigued him to such a degree, that he
decided to follow these two roads. He learnt avidly from the teachings given in those days
and lived in the atmosphere built by our founding bishops, particularly Bishop Wedgwood.
He was almost thirty when, during World War 2, he
was ordained to the priesthood in (in those days) Huizen at the Centre of St. Michael.
This was the spiritual centre to which he was so dedicated. He regarded the position of
the Church at this centre of immense value. In this he felt supported by the then Head of
the Centre, Rukmini Devi, who in the eighties made clear, that "the Church is the
powerhouse of the Centre". It was from this spiritual vantagepoint that he always
performed his work for the Church. Frequently he would tell the members of the clergy:
"In the first place you have the congregation, in the second place the
congregation, then a long period of nothing and finally the clergy". This was his
way of typifying the importance of the role of the congregation in the Church, a view
inspired by the vision of the visionary priest, Prof. Van der Stok. The vision of the
latter on, amongst others, the feminine aspect in our Church, made a deep impression on
him.
Imbued with the foundations of the Church, as he understood them, he
moved mountains of work, also as priest in charge of several parishes. In 1982, again at
St. Michael, he was consecrated to the episcopacy, shortly afterwards succeeding Bishop
Van Brakel as the Regionary Bishop for the Province of the Netherlands. As the years
passed by, he preached his meditative and mystical approach, undoubtedly fed from his
early years in the Church. Being Regionary took its toll; the hardest task the balancing
of spirituality with being a manager of the Province. After his retirement as Regionary,
his approach became even more meditative. In this manner he inspired many with his
meditative lectures, given at Church Congresses and on other occasions. To many he was
able to transfer some of his warmth, some of his concern for those around him. He would
almost always ask after one’s personal situation and ever lent a listening ear for
the well and woe in the parishes. Every day, while he was still able to do this, in his
meditation he would dedicate a good thought to each and every parish and to those whom he
knew to be in difficult circumstances.
His last years were for the greater part spent in the building up of
the parish in Maastricht. Despite his age and the physical limitations he was beginning to
experience, he worked exceptionally hard at this. Always from the viewpoint that the
spiritual work must continue: If this parish were to be closed, it would be exceptionally
difficult to reopen and blow new life into it. Besides, he felt himself completely at home
with his "family in Limburg", where his meditative approach fell on fertile
soil. Unfortunately he was unable to attend on the physical plane, the crown piece of his
work in Maastricht, the ordination to the priesthood of Theo Werink. No doubt he was
present to give his blessing to Theo from the unseen world.
In contrast to his warmth as a person, as a bishop he would quite
emphatically dot the i’s and cross the t’s. As Regionary and also later, he
would come into action when something happened or was said that did not concur with his
vision of the spiritual life or the welfare of the Church. As many experienced first hand,
manoeuvring around him was not one of the options open to one in such a case! On the other
hand, he was the epitome of loyalty: As a member of the clergy in Amersfoort, where the
author is Priest in Charge, he always allowed the author to make his own decisions as
regards matters of the parish, even when he disagreed (which he would by no uncertain
means make clear…).
Until the very end, he was always interested in others and enjoyed
company. After giving him the Unction in Extremis, we said farewell to each other. Even
under these conditions, he did not forget to emphatically ask the author, with tremendous
warmth, to pass his greetings on to all those, whom he had wished he had sufficient time
to pass on personally. Only afterwards he would come to realise that seeing all the
visitors at the hospital was perhaps a bit much for him, but at least he had been able to
enjoy their company!
Our gratefulness to Bishop Ludovicus will remain in our memory for a
long time. Undoubtedly he is continuing his spiritual work in the unseen world, where he
can serve many as a brother in Christ.
Rev Edmund Huster, The Netherlands
Contents: Volume LXV, No 1. |
