>Andreas Philopater at 12:03, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T12:03:19Z

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{{short description|Belgian Jesuit priest and missionary}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
'''Constant Lievens''' (11 April 1856 – 7 November 1893) was a [[Belgium|Belgian]] ([[Flemish people|Flemish]]) [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Catholic priest|priest]], [[missionary]] among the tribal peoples of Central [[India]], particularly the [[Munda people|Mundaris]], [[Oraon people|Oraons]]. He is regarded as the apostle of the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau|Chotanagpur]] ([[Jharkhand]] and [[Chhattisgarh]] states in central India).
[[Image:Constant Lievens (1856-1893).jpg|thumb|Constant Lievens, the Chota Nagpur Apostle]]

==Biography==

===Early years and formation===
Born in [[Moorslede]], [[Belgium]] to a large rural Flemish family (six sisters and four brothers), Constant Lievens did his high school studies and [[philosophy]] in the [[Minor Seminary, Roeselare]] (1870-1877) before starting a first year of [[theological]] training at the [[seminary]] of [[Bruges]]. A strong desire to become an overseas missionary led him to ask for admission in the [[Society of Jesus]] (1878). As soon as the two-years [[novitiate]] spiritual training was completed, he was sent to India to complete his theological training in [[Asansol]] ([[West Bengal]]). Lievens was ordained [[Catholic priest|priest]] in [[Calcutta]] on 14 January 1883.
[[File:Constant Lievens memorial slab in Torpa (in Munda).JPG|thumb|left|upright|Memorial slab erected in Torpa, as per Mundari custom]]

===Missionary work===
Central India (the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]]) was then opening up to missionary work and Lievens was sent to the area in 1885. After a few months of preliminary contacts and study of the language and customs of the [[Munda people]] Lievens settled in a hut at [[Torpa, India|Torpa]], a large village 60 km south of [[Ranchi]] (today's capital city of the [[Jharkhand]] state). That was in November 1885. Torpa became the centre of his activities. What he discovered was a disheartening situation of [[forced labour]], acute [[indebtedness]] and systematic [[land grab|land spoliation]]. He understood that to speak of Christ and of the Gospel had little sense and purpose if the Mundas were not first reestablished in their basic rights and [[human dignity]]. He began gathering information on the tribal [[customary law]] and started defending in the English colonial courts the rights of those whose land had been taken away by deceit. In particular he succeeded in having the English magistrates accept that the non-written customary law be taken into consideration when dealing with tribal cases. Repeated successes at the "white man" court of justice won him the heart of the Mundas who saw in him a "saviour" and started accepting [[Christianity]]. Many asked and received baptism. A large conversion movement was set into motion. If in 1886 the number of Christians in the area was only 2,700, two years later they were already 15,000 baptized and some 40,000 [[catechumen]]s. Lievens was overwhelmed by the requests for court help as well as by the evangelization work that had to follow. Other missionaries were sent to support him in his task. His own rural background made him understand without difficulty how much land was an important factor in the self-dignity and identity of the tribal populations of the Chotanagpur plateau, in particular the Mundas, [[Oraon]]s and [[Kharia people|Kharias]]. Appointed Director of the Mission he shifted residence to Ranchi (1888-1892), the district headquarters, from where coordination of missionary activities (justice and social work, education and evangelization) was easier done. Christians were then numbering 73,000.

===Illness and death===
Suffering from [[tuberculosis]], he was sent by doctors to the mountains of [[Darjeeling]] (end of 1891), but the urgency of the work - and disquieting news of [[Apostasy|apostasies]] - brought him hurriedly back to the Chota Nagpur where he again spent himself without counting. He [[Baptism|baptized]] in a few months some 12,000 people in the Barway area (1892). A serious relapse forced him to stop definitively. His religious Superior sent him back to Belgium to recuperate. It was too late. In spite of medical care, the situation worsened and Lievens died in [[Leuven]] on 7 November 1893.

==Veneration and Souvenir==
[[File:Ranchi - Cathédrale Sainte-Marie - 19.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Fr. Constant Lievens in Saint Mary's Cathedral of Ranchi]]
*Recently a preliminary investigation was begun in view of his possible [[beatification]]. His ashes were transferred to Ranchi ([[Jharkhand]], India) where they are kept in the Catholic Cathedral of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi|Ranchi Archdiocese]].
*A statue of Lievens on horseback was erected in Torpa, the heart of the Munda region and centre of Lievens activities. An identical statue of Lievens holding the [[crucifix]] was installed in [[Moorslede]] (Belgium), his native town.

==Writings==
* ''Brieven van C. Lievens'', Moorslede, 1994.

==Bibliography==
*Houthaeve, R., ''Een leven als een wervelwind'', Moorslede, 1992
*Bowen, F.J., ''Fr. C. Lievens, the apostle of Chotanagpur'', Londres, 1936.
*Marlier, A., ''Een Jezuïet-missionaris'', Bruxelles, 1956.
*Monbaliu, L., ''C.Lievens, de ridder van Chotanagpur'', Roeselaere, 1983.
*Tete, P., ''C. Lievens and the Catholic Church of Chotanagpur'', Ranchi, 1993.

==References==
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==External links ==
* [http://www.constantlievens.be Beatification website] {{in lang|nl}}

{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= Belgium |portal4= India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lievens, Constant}}
[[Category:1856 births]]
[[Category:1893 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:People from West Flanders]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic missionaries in India]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in India]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Belgium]]

Constant Lievens - Revision history

>Andreas Philopater at 12:03, 20 June 2021