Vermeersch, Arthur

VERMEERSCH, ARTHUR. - Moral theologian of the Society of Jesus, b. at Ertvelde (province of East Flanders, Belgium), on 26 Aug. 1858, d. at Egenhoven (Louvain) on 12 July 1936. He studied law at Namur, then at Louvain, where he took, in addition to a degree in civil law, one in political and social sciences. He entered the Society of Jesus on 27 Sept. 1879. After three years of study, he was for two years a gymnasium professor, then in Rome he obtained degrees in theology and canon law at the Gregorian University. In 1892 he began his teaching at the Collegium Maximum of the Society at Louvain (1892). In 1918 he succeeded Fr. Bucceroni (v.) in the chair of moral theology at the Gregorian University, which he held until 1934.

Endowed with a penetrating intelligence and an extraordinary capacity for work, V. left, in the various fields of the sacred sciences, works of great value. On legislation concerning religious he wrote the 2 vols. De religiosis institutis et personis, Bruges 1902; the second vol. was continued with the quarterly publication De religiosis institutis et personis supplementa, etc., from which there later arose in 1911 the journal Periodica de re canonica et morali, in which he published, almost single-handedly for more than twenty years, highly esteemed dissertations and commentaries. As soon as the CIC was promulgated, he produced, in collaboration with Fr. Creusen, a compendium of it (Summa novi iuris, Malines 1918), then an extensive commentary in 3 vols. (Epitome iuris canonici, ibid. 1921-22, 7th ed.). A great admirer of the scholastic method in the teaching of moral theology, he wrote the treatises De iustitia (Bruges 1901), De virtute religionis et pietatis (ibid. 1912), De castitate (Rome 1919). In 1922 he began in Rome the publication of his Theologia moralis - Principia - Responsa - Consilia in 4 vols. (4th posthumous ed.). He was also a highly esteemed sociologist. His Manuel social (Bruges 1900) was awarded a prize by the Belgian government. Moved by his profound piety, he wrote two volumes Pratique et doctrine de la dévotion au Sacré Coeur (ibid. 1906); and two others: Méditations sur la Ste Vierge (ibid. 1903). The latter have been translated into six languages.

V. was a man of prayer and of great austerity, and many disciples and priests chose him as their spiritual father. He was made doctor honoris causa by the Universities of Louvain, Milan, and Budapest and received various civil honors. To celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday he was offered a collection of studies (Miscellanea V., 2 vols., Rome 1935). The complete list of his scholarly output up to 1935 numbers 44 works and pamphlets, 43 vols. of the Periodica, and countless articles in various languages. Also worthy of mention are De prohibitione librorum (Rome 1897), La question congolaise (Bruges 1906), La tolérance (ibid. 1922, 2nd ed., Louvain 1922, trans. into three languages).

Giuseppe Creusen