Lode Van Hecke was appointed new bishop of Ghent on Sunday during a ceremony at Saint Bavo’s cathedral, which was attended in particular by Queen Paola.
Lode Van Hecke, 69, is the first Trappist monk to become a bishop in Belgium.
Monk of the Orval abbey since 1976, he was also an abbot there since 2007. In November, Pope Francis had called him to succeed Luc Van Looy.
In addition to Queen Paola, Minister of the Interior Pieter De Crem and Minister of State Herman de Croo were present at the ceremony.
“It was a surprise to many, but probably a good surprise, when they learned that the Pope had decided to appoint a monk as bishop of Ghent. But it is a tradition of the Church to entrust the episcopate to a monk. To share with others what he received from Christ during his life of silence and prayer, like a shepherd of the Church“, emphasized Cardinal Jozef De Kesel in his homily.
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