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Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde, O.S.A., born April 22, 1907 † March 12, 1995, served forty years from 1951 to 1991 as Vicar General
Vicar general

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular church after the diocesan bishop....
 of the Vatican
Vatican City

Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
 State, and was the longest serving Vatican official in that position.

Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde was born in Hasselt
Hasselt

||-||-||}Hasselt is a Belgium city and Municipalities in Belgium, and capital of the Flemish Region Provinces of Belgium of Limburg . The Hasselt municipality includes the city of Hasselt and the old communes of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst....
, Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 to a Dutch family. After his education, he joined the Order of Saint Augustine and was ordained priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
  May 30, 1931. After receiving doctorates in theology and philosophy, he headed the Augustinian College Saint Monica
Saint Monica

Saint Monica may refer to:*Monica , a Christian saint and mother of Saint Augustine*Saint Monica , a 2002 Canadian film...
 in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, where he was hiding many refugees including military officers, Jews and anti-fascist politicians during he war years.






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Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde, O.S.A., born April 22, 1907 † March 12, 1995, served forty years from 1951 to 1991 as Vicar General
Vicar general

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular church after the diocesan bishop....
 of the Vatican
Vatican City

Vatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a Landlocked country sovereignty city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the Capital of Italy....
 State, and was the longest serving Vatican official in that position.

Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde was born in Hasselt
Hasselt

||-||-||}Hasselt is a Belgium city and Municipalities in Belgium, and capital of the Flemish Region Provinces of Belgium of Limburg . The Hasselt municipality includes the city of Hasselt and the old communes of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst....
, Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 to a Dutch family. After his education, he joined the Order of Saint Augustine and was ordained priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
  May 30, 1931. After receiving doctorates in theology and philosophy, he headed the Augustinian College Saint Monica
Saint Monica

Saint Monica may refer to:*Monica , a Christian saint and mother of Saint Augustine*Saint Monica , a 2002 Canadian film...
 in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, where he was hiding many refugees including military officers, Jews and anti-fascist politicians during he war years. Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as the 260th pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church and monarch of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death in 1958....
  named him Titular Bishop
Titular bishop

A titular bishop is a Bishop of the Catholic Church who is not in charge of a diocese . Examples of bishops belonging to this category are coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, bishops emeritus, vicar apostolic, nuncios, superiors of departments in the Roman Curia, and Cardinal Bishops of suburbicarian dioceses ....
 of Porphyreon in 1951 and Vicar General
Vicar general

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular church after the diocesan bishop....
 of the Vatican State. October 1958 he gave the last rites
Last Rites

Last Rites can refer to* Anointing of the Sick Note: The term "Last Rites" is not equivalent to "Anointing of the Sick", since it refers also to two other distinct rites: Penance and Eucharist, the last of which, when administered to the dying, is known as "Viaticum", a word whose original meaning in Latin was "provision for the jour...
 to the Pope and presided over his funeral in Saint Peter Basilica. He functioned as Sacristan in four Papal Conclave
Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the pope, or Bishop of Rome, who is considered by Catholics to be the Apostolic Succession of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Catholic Church....
s, 1958, 1963 and twice in 1978. After having served forty years and one day, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
 accepted his resignation in 1991 and named him Emeritus Vicar General, with the privilege to maintain his residence inside the Vatican near the papal quarters.

Sacristan of the Popes

In 1954, when Pope Pius XII seemed to be without hope of survival, he asked for Petrus Canisius Van Lierde to annoint him. Miracuously, the Pope recovered and lived another four years. In May 1963, Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII

Blessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and monarch of Vatican City on 28 October 1958....
 was asking for him. On May 31 it had become clear that the cancer had overcome the resistance of the Pope. At 11 A.M. Petrus Canisius Van Lierde as Papal Sacristan was at the bedside of the dying pope, ready to anoint him. The Pope begins to speak for a very last time: “I had the great grace to be born into a Christian family, modest and poor, but with the fear of the Lord. …My time on earth is drawing to a close. But Christ lives on and continues his work in the Church. Souls, souls, Ut omnes unum sint, (that all may be one). Van Lierde then anointed his eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet. Overcome by emotion, he forgets the right order of anointing. Pope John gently helps him. Then the Pope bid him and all the other bystanders a last farewell.

Van Lierde and Pope Pius XII

Throughout his life, Van Lierde was an ardent admirer of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as the 260th pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church and monarch of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death in 1958....
, whose determination and courage to save lives during the German occupation of Rome he repeatedly described.Pius XII possessed a sharp, penetrating intelligence, an extraordinary memory, a methodical way, and strong will to work, a deep love of God and of people, whom he loved through God and because of Him. Pius XII lived simply when alone, and displayed friendly reluctance, when he met strangers. He had instant capacity to understand the other person and showed great tact towards those who may have been very direct. From 1958 to 1995, he presided over the annual liturgical celebrations for Pope Pius XII in the crypt of Saint Peter Basilica. In presence of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he led the funeral services of Madre Pascalina Lehnert in the Vatican's Campo Santo. Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde died March 12, 1995, on the anniversary of the coronation
Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch with regal power, specifically involving the placement of a coronation crown upon his or her head, and the presentation of other items of regalia....
 of his favourite Pope.

Sources
    • Pontificio Annuario, Vatican City, 1951-1992
    • Peter Pham, Vatican Heirs of the Fisherman behind the scenes of Papal Death and succession, Oxford University Press 2004


Publications
    • Petrus Canisius J van Lierde, Pius XII, in Herbert Schambeck, Pius XII, Butzon & Becker, Kevelaer, 1986
    • Petrus Canisius J van Lierde The Holy See at work, how the Catholic Church is governed, [Translated by James Tucek. Hawthorn Books New York, 1962
    • Petrus Canisius J van Lierde, Prayers and devotions from John Paul II London. Penguin. 1998. 466 S.. ISBN 0-14-024725-4
    • Petrus Canisius J. van Lierde, What is a Cardinal, Hawthorn Books, New York, 1964