MOLANUS, JAN VAN (Latinized from MEULEN, VERMEULEN, VAN DER MEULEN). - Theologian, b. at Lille in 1533, d. at Louvain on 18 Sept. 1585. He studied at Louvain, where he obtained the degree in theology in 1570.
M.’s principal activity was that of professor at the University of Louvain, of which he was also rector in 1578. During the war in the Netherlands, while maintaining complete loyalty to the King, he courageously protested against the tyranny of his ministers. His fame is due especially to his critical edition of the Martyrology of Usuard (Louvain, 1568). He also wrote: Indiculus sanctorum Belgii (ibid., 1573); De picturis et imaginibus sacris (ibid., 1570); De historia sanctorum imaginum (ibid., 1594); Theologiae practicae compendium per conclusiones in quinque tractatus digestum (Cologne, 1585), a good manual of practical theology, in which M. summarizes the lectures he gave at the Collège du roi, of which he was president.