Ambrosius Capello (1597–1676) was the seventh bishop of Antwerp (1654–1676).[1]

Ambrosius Capello

O.P.
Bishop of Antwerp
Portrait of Capello by Jacob van Reesbroeck (1659)
ChurchRoman Catholic
DioceseAntwerp
SeeCathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)
Appointed1652
Installed1654
Term ended1676
PredecessorGaspard Nemius
SuccessorAubertus van den Eede
Orders
Consecration13 September 1654
Personal details
Born(1597-06-22)22 June 1597
Died4 October 1676(1676-10-04) (aged 79)
Antwerp
BuriedAntwerp Cathedral
Profession21 November 1613
EducationTheology
Alma materUniversity of Douai
University of Salamanca
University of Leuven

Life

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Capello was born in Antwerp on 22 June 1597, the son of an Italian military contractor, Jean-François Capello, and a Netherlandish lady, Marie de Boxhorn. He entered the Dominican Order in 1612 and studied Theology in the universities of Douai, Salamanca and Leuven. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Theology in Leuven in 1627.

He held a number of positions of responsibility in his order – prior of several houses, definitor for the Belgian province, deputy of the province to the general chapter – and in 1642 he was named vice-prefect of the Dutch Mission. In 1652 he was named bishop of Antwerp, but the appointment was not confirmed until 1654. On 13 September 1654, he was consecrated bishop by his predecessor, Gaspard Nemius, who had been transferred to the archdiocese of Cambrai. As bishop, he founded a number of scholarships and a retirement home for aged priests.

Wilhelmus Foppens's Dutch translation of the Roman Catechism (printed by François Foppens [fr] for Joachim van Metelen, Antwerp, 1668; reprinted 1687, 1701) was dedicated to him.[2]

 
Monumental tomb of Ambrosius Capello, designed by Artus Quellinus II

Capello died in Antwerp on 4 October 1676, leaving all his worldly goods to the poor.[3] His ornate Baroque tomb in Antwerp Cathedral, designed by Artus Quellinus II, was the only one to survive the French Revolution.

References

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  1. ^ Lucien Ceyssens, "Capello (Marius - Ambroise)", Biographie Nationale de Belgique, vol. 37, (Brussels, 1971), 123-129.
  2. ^ The 1687 reprint is available on Google Books
  3. ^ Leo Braeken, De dekenij Herentals, 1603–1669 (Leuven, 1982), p. 71.
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  Media related to Marius Ambrosius Capello at Wikimedia Commons

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Antwerp
1652–1676
Succeeded by