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 and then at Louvain, where, in addition to a degree in civil law, he obtained one in political and social sciences. He entered the Society of Jesus on 27 Sept. 1879. After three years of studies, he was a professor of a gymnasium for two years; then, in Rome, he obtained degrees in theology and canon law at the Gregorian University. In 1892 he began teaching at the Collegium Maximum of the Society in Louvain (1892). In 1918 he succeeded Fr. BUCCERONI, GENNARO (v.) in the chair of moral theology at the Gregorian University, which he held until 1934.
Endowed with penetrating intelligence and an extraordinary capacity for work, V. left works of great value in various fields of the sacred sciences. On legislation concerning religious he wrote the 2 vols. De religiosis institutis et personis, Bruges 1902; the II vol. was continued with the quarterly publication De religiosis institutis et personis supplementa, etc., from which the journal Periodica de re canonica et morali subsequently arose in 1911; in it 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), followed by 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 publishing in Rome 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
accompanied his religious crisis.
Another friendship (with the pupil Lucien Létinois) once again threw V. into the arms of his “faun-like” demon, induced him to purchase a farm, and led him to undertake an unsuccessful agricultural experiment. After the young man’s death, V. underwent further legal tribulations, because of a quarrel he had, while drunk, with the mother (1885), and finally settled in Pa-
Belgian. 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 great austerity, and many disciples and priests chose him as their spiritual father. He was created doctor honoris causa of the Universities of Louvain, Milan, and Budapest, and received various civil honors. To celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday, a collection of studies was presented to him (Miscellanea V., 2 vols., Rome 1935). The complete list of his scientific production up to 1935 comprises 44 works and pamphlets, 43 vols. of Periodica, and countless articles in various languages. Also deserving mention are De prohibitions librorum (Rome 1897), La question congolaise (Bruges 1906), La tolérance (ibid. 1922, 2nd ed., Louvain 1922, translated into three languages).