Leo XIV Appoints Two Belgian Bishops: "Listening", "Building Bridges", and "Developing Identities"
- Father Fabien Lejeusne, a 52-year-old Assumptionist priest, has been appointed bishop of Namur, succeeding 77-year-old Monsignor Pierre Warin.
- Father Frédéric Rossignol, a 51-year-old Spiritan Father, will take over the Tournai diocese from Monsignor Guy Harpigny, who is also 77.
These appointments are unusual. Neither Lejeusne nor Rossignol are members of the diocesan clergy. They are not originally from the diocese to which they have been appointed. Furthermore, they are both relatively unknown figures within the Belgian Church.
The two will be consecrated as bishops in December: Lejeusne on 7 December in Namur and Rossignol on 14 December in Tournai.
An Abused Child With Beautiful Years in Orphanage
Born on 28 October 1973 in Tournai, Belgium, Fabien Lejeusne grew up in an orphanage run by the 'Oblate Sisters of the Assumption' in Froyennes. He was one year old when he was placed there following the violence he suffered in his family. "I was a beaten child", he said about this time.
In the orphanage he met people who were capable of giving much love. “These years are undoubtedly the most beautiful of my life.”
When the sisters wanted to prepare him for his first communion, they realised that little Fabien had not been baptised. In order to baptise him, they needed his parents' consent. Fabien therefore decided to wait until he was 18.
He said in a report published on CathoBel.be: “Before I was baptized, I was an almost introverted child. The grace of baptism transformed me. I, who didn't dare to speak in public, climbed onto a chair on the day of my baptism and gave a speech.”
After leaving the orphanage at 18, he trained as a carpenter and supported himself with weekend jobs: “Life hasn’t spared me. But my experiences help me to be close to people; I know the difficulties they face.”
He entered the Assumptionist novitiate in 1997, took vows in 2001, and was ordained a priest in 2003. His ministry has taken him across France — Strasbourg, Montpellier — as vicar, chaplain, and national chaplain for the Scouts and Guides of France.
The new bishops loves sports, especially running, snowboarding in winter and surfing in summer: “Doing a bit of sport is necessary to stay in shape,” he says.
In his online publications, he uses empty buzzwords such as:
“Build bridges, not walls.”
“Building fraternity.”
“Being close to people.”
“Joy of mission.”
”Let God surprise us.”
After his appointment as bishop, he said: “I feel called to be close, to listen, to walk alongside.”
Vietnamese name is Trần Sỹ Hoà - until Vietnam Refused to Renew Visa
Frédéric Pierre Rossignol, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, was born on 5 January 1974 in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, near Brussels. After his secondary schooling he entered the major seminary of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels and pursued philosophy studies at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he also earned a degree in criminology.
In 2000 he joined the Spiritans. He completed theology in Porto, made perpetual vows in 2005, and was ordained that same year in Gentinnes.
In 2007 he helped establish a new Spiritan community in Vietnam, where he served for more than a decade and even adopted a Vietnamese name, Trần Sỹ Hoà. After a brief period in Bolivia (2018-2019), he returned to Asia as the major superior of the Spiritan circumscription covering Vietnam and India (2021-2023). When his visa was unexpectedly refused by the Vietnamese authorities in 2023, he interpreted the setback as a providential call to new service.
In 2019, he wrote an intervention about the future direction of his religious order: “Identity is a concept that is difficult to define because it is changing — both personally and collectively. Our congregation changes. We too, on the personal and community level, are in continual evolution.”
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