VERVOORT, FRANCESCO. - Franciscan ascetical theologian, b. at Mechelen ca. 1500, d. there on 24 Sept. 1555.

There are few biographical data on him. He inherited a vast fortune from his parents and, by his own confession, enjoyed the pleasures of the world; but suddenly (after 1520) he entered the Friars Minor of Mechelen. He acquired an intimate knowledge of ascetical and mystical literature, both ancient and contemporary. When Johannes von Isemborch, archbishop of Trier, asked for an apostolic man who could help him in the reform of his diocese, V. was proposed to him by the provincial father Holstanus, who praised him in a letter of 30 June 1551, the principal source for V.'s biography. It is not known, however, whether V. went to Trier.

BISHOP - Consecration of the v. The consecrating v. blesses the newly elected one, who bows, assisted by another v. and by the clergy in an attitude of waiting for the ritual imposition of hands. Miniature from the Sacramentary of Warmond, f. 8 (967-1015). Ivrea, Biblioteca capitolare.(from *La miniature dei Sacramentaria d'Ivrea e di altri codici warmondiani*, edited by L. Magnani, Città del Vaticano III, *tav.* I)

Of his writings, some remain unpublished; the majority was published anonymously through the efforts of his friends and protectors. V. is not an original thinker: he draws, without indicating his sources, on earlier authors (e.g., Ruusbroec, Herp, Eckehart, Tauler; a methodical investigation remains to be done). All his writings, however, are imbued with a personal spirit. His doctrine has a speculative foundation that leaves the perspective open onto the mystical ascent. But the development and the general fabric of his works are of an affective kind and treat the inexhaustible theme of the ardent love of the suffering Christ and of God dwelling in the heart. V.'s style is rich and varied; his imagination unfolds in an incessant lyricism.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Pr. Verheyden, Inleiding tot Passietoonselen, Antwerp 1924; id., in Handelingen v. d. Mechelchen Kring, Mechelen 1925-27; Prosper Verheyden gehu digd 23 october 1943 (miscellany), Antwerp 1943; A. Ampe - A. Deblaere, in Ona Geestlihe Erp, 1945, pp. 211-26.

Alberto Ampe

@incollection{ec12_vervoort_francesco, author = {Ampe, Alberto}, title = {Vervoort, francesco}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1310--1311}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/vervoort-francesco} }

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Vervoort, Francesco

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