Karel Justinus Calewaert

Karel Justinus Calewaert (17 October 1893 – 27 December 1963) was a Belgian Catholic bishop.

Life

Early years Calevaert was born in Deinze, a small town a short distance to the southwest of Ghent. His father, also named Justinus Calewaert, was a successful businessman, with premises in the Tolpoortstraat, who also ran a distillery. (military academy) in Leopoldsburg, becoming director at this institution in 1927. On 1 October 1931 he was appointed president of the Main Seminary at Ghent, and in 1940 he became Vicar general for the diocese. In the context of the linguistic sensitivities of the time and place, the Ghent born composer observed that Calewaert appeared to come from the Francophone class ("....les gens d'expression française"), although since he came from Deinze he also spoke perfectly good Flemish (Dutch).

During the 1955 schools conflict he wrote, on 8 July 1955, a pastoral letter calling on the faithful to support free education through the "School and family" programme, in respect of which a commemorative plaque was produced in 1958. Also in 1955, on 19 December 1955, it fell to Caelwaert to dedicate the important Temse Bridge at Themse when it was opened by The King.

Karel Justinus Calewaert died on 12 March 1963, a couple of months after his 70th birthday. His body was buried in the crypt of his cathedral, St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent.