HEYLEN, THOMAS-LOUIS. - Bishop of Namur, b. 1 February 1856 at Casterlé-lez-Turnhout (Antwerp), d. 27 October 1941 at Namur. Premonstratensian at the abbey of Tongerloo (1875) and ordained priest on 1 July 1881, he was sent to Rome for advanced studies at the Gregorian University, where his teachers included Mazzella and Billot.
He brilliantly defended a philosophical disputation before Leo XIII, who formed a high opinion of the young Premonstratensian. In 1887 he was elected Abbot of Tongerloo and two years later Vicar General of the Norbertines of Belgium; his administration proved most beneficial to the entire Order.
On 5 September 1899 he was appointed Bishop of Namur, where he governed with wisdom, implementing social reforms among the people. His steadfast stance during the invasion (1914–18) won widespread admiration.
In 1901 he became permanent president of the International Eucharistic Congresses. In that capacity he was the driving force behind the great Eucharistic assemblies held from the beginning of the century until 1938 in the world’s major cities. His learning, matched by extraordinary zeal, infused those gatherings with an atmosphere of admiration, and he was hailed as the apostle of the Most Holy Eucharist.