Gommar DePauw
Encyclopedia
Fr. Gommar A. DePauw was a traditionalist Catholic
priest and founder of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement.
DePauw was born in Stekene
, Belgium
, the son of a newspaper editor. After graduating as a Diplomate in Classical Humanities, magna cum laude, from the College of St. Nicholas, he entered the diocesan seminary of Ghent
for his philosophical and theological studies. During the Second World War he served as a combat medic with the 9th Belgian Infantry Hunters Regiment, and was taken prisoner at Dunkirk in 1940. After escaping from prison camp, he returned to his seminary studies and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Ghent in 1942. He served as a battle-field chaplain with the Belgian Underground Army and the Polish 1st Armoured Division
until the end of the war.
For three years DePauw studied at the University of Leuven, where he earned a bachelor's degree in canon law
and a licentiate in canon law, moral theology
and church history
.
In 1949 DePauw joined his family in the United States. He served as an assistant priest in two New York City
parishes: St. Stephen's in Manhattan
and St. Clare's in The Bronx
. At the same time he pursued graduate studies at The Catholic University of America
in Washington, D.C.
In 1953 he received a doctorate in canon law with a dissertation entitled The Educational Rights of the Church.
From 1952 to 1963 DePauw taught canon law at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland
. In 1955 he requested and was granted incardination
from the Diocese of Ghent to the Archdiocese of Baltimore
and was named academic dean of the seminary. On 9 May 1955 he became a United States citizen. While teaching at the seminary, he contributed articles to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, and Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses.
During the Second Vatican Council
he was called to Rome
to serve as a peritus
, a theological advisor to bishops at the Council. At the request of the Cardinal Secretary of State
, Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Pope Paul VI
made him a domestic prelate
with the title Right Reverend Monsignor.
Towards the end of the Second Vatican Council DePauw came into conflict with the Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore Lawrence Shehan over the interpretation of the council's teachings, particularly about liturgical matters. In January 1965 DePauw incorporated an organization called the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York State, purportedly with the support of the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Francis Spellman. Shehan demanded that DePauw break with the organization. In summer 1965 Shehan removed DePauw from teaching duties at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary and transferred him to a parish in a Baltimore suburb. Shortly thereafter DePauw left for Rome.
On 15 November 1965 Luigi Faveri, Bishop of Tivoli in Italy
, signed a document transferring DePauw's incardination from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to the Diocese of Tivoli. Faveri said that he had taken this step at the request of Cardinal Spellman and of the Cardinal Secretary of the Holy Office, Alfredo Ottaviani. This transfer would have allowed DePauw to continue his work with the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York.
In January 1966 after the attempted transfer from Baltimore to Tivoli became public, Cardinal Shehan said that the transfer was never legally completed and that DePauw was still a priest incardinated in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In order to excardinate and incardinate, a priest must request excardination of his bishop, and it must be granted. As Cardinal Shehan was following the universal law of the Church, the Bishop of Tivoli supported Cardinal Shehan. Bishop Blais Kurz, the exiled Prefect Apostolic of Yungchow in China
, supported DePauw.
On 23 June 1968 DePauw established the Ave Maria Chapel in Westbury, Long Island, where he ministered until his death. He became well-known among traditionalist Catholics for his Sunday radio mass, his video and audio cassettes, and pamphlets. He edited two magazines: Sounds of Truth and Tradition and Quote .. Unquote. His two best-known works are the Traditional Roman Catholic Mass and The Challenge of Peace through Strength, a critique of the American Catholic bishops' pastoral letter on war and peace, The Challenge of Peace.
DePauw died on 6 May 2005.
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
priest and founder of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement.
DePauw was born in Stekene
Stekene
Stekene is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. Since 1976 the municipality has comprised the towns of Kemzeke, Klein-Sinaai and Stekene proper. It also includes the villages of Hellestraat and Koewacht. On July 1, 2007 Stekene had a total population of 17,040...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the son of a newspaper editor. After graduating as a Diplomate in Classical Humanities, magna cum laude, from the College of St. Nicholas, he entered the diocesan seminary of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
for his philosophical and theological studies. During the Second World War he served as a combat medic with the 9th Belgian Infantry Hunters Regiment, and was taken prisoner at Dunkirk in 1940. After escaping from prison camp, he returned to his seminary studies and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Ghent in 1942. He served as a battle-field chaplain with the Belgian Underground Army and the Polish 1st Armoured Division
Polish 1st Armoured Division
The Polish 1st Armoured Division was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland. At its peak it numbered approximately 16,000 soldiers...
until the end of the war.
For three years DePauw studied at the University of Leuven, where he earned a bachelor's degree in canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
and a licentiate in canon law, moral theology
Ethics in religion
Most religions have an ethical component, often derived from purported supernatural revelation or guidance. "For many people, ethics is not only tied up with religion, but is completely settled by it...
and church history
History of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth who they believed to be the Christ or chosen one of God...
.
In 1949 DePauw joined his family in the United States. He served as an assistant priest in two New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
parishes: St. Stephen's in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and St. Clare's in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. At the same time he pursued graduate studies at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In 1953 he received a doctorate in canon law with a dissertation entitled The Educational Rights of the Church.
From 1952 to 1963 DePauw taught canon law at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland
Emmitsburg, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,290 people, 811 households, and 553 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,992.9 people per square mile . There were 862 housing units at an average density of 750.2 per square mile...
. In 1955 he requested and was granted incardination
Excardination and Incardination
In the Roman Catholic Church, incardination refers to the situation of a member of the clergy being placed under the jurisdiction of a particular bishop or other religious superior...
from the Diocese of Ghent to the Archdiocese of Baltimore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore as well as Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington Counties in Maryland...
and was named academic dean of the seminary. On 9 May 1955 he became a United States citizen. While teaching at the seminary, he contributed articles to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, and Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses.
During the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
he was called to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to serve as a peritus
Peritus
Peritus is the title given to Roman Catholic theologians who are present to give advice at an ecumenical council. At the most recent council, the Second Vatican Council, some periti accompanied individual bishops or groups of bishops from various countries...
, a theological advisor to bishops at the Council. At the request of the Cardinal Secretary of State
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Cardinal Secretary of State—officially Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope—presides over the Holy See, usually known as the "Vatican", Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia...
, Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
made him a domestic prelate
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
with the title Right Reverend Monsignor.
Towards the end of the Second Vatican Council DePauw came into conflict with the Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore Lawrence Shehan over the interpretation of the council's teachings, particularly about liturgical matters. In January 1965 DePauw incorporated an organization called the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York State, purportedly with the support of the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Francis Spellman. Shehan demanded that DePauw break with the organization. In summer 1965 Shehan removed DePauw from teaching duties at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary and transferred him to a parish in a Baltimore suburb. Shortly thereafter DePauw left for Rome.
On 15 November 1965 Luigi Faveri, Bishop of Tivoli in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, signed a document transferring DePauw's incardination from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to the Diocese of Tivoli. Faveri said that he had taken this step at the request of Cardinal Spellman and of the Cardinal Secretary of the Holy Office, Alfredo Ottaviani. This transfer would have allowed DePauw to continue his work with the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York.
In January 1966 after the attempted transfer from Baltimore to Tivoli became public, Cardinal Shehan said that the transfer was never legally completed and that DePauw was still a priest incardinated in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In order to excardinate and incardinate, a priest must request excardination of his bishop, and it must be granted. As Cardinal Shehan was following the universal law of the Church, the Bishop of Tivoli supported Cardinal Shehan. Bishop Blais Kurz, the exiled Prefect Apostolic of Yungchow in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, supported DePauw.
On 23 June 1968 DePauw established the Ave Maria Chapel in Westbury, Long Island, where he ministered until his death. He became well-known among traditionalist Catholics for his Sunday radio mass, his video and audio cassettes, and pamphlets. He edited two magazines: Sounds of Truth and Tradition and Quote .. Unquote. His two best-known works are the Traditional Roman Catholic Mass and The Challenge of Peace through Strength, a critique of the American Catholic bishops' pastoral letter on war and peace, The Challenge of Peace.
DePauw died on 6 May 2005.
External links
- Catholic Traditionalist Movement
- Fr. Gommar Depauw's obituary
- Conciliar or Catholic, 1967 lecture by DePauw