He was ordained to the priesthood in Bruges on 17 December 1870, and from 1871 to 1875 served as an assistant priest in the parish of Blankenberge.

[2] During his episcopate, he supported the development and modernisation of Catholic education in his diocese, particularly in vocational and technical fields, and encouraged the establishment of the Revue pratique de l'Enseignement in 1896.

In line with developing Catholic social teaching he favoured a range of social apostolates, such as mutual insurance societies, savings unions, employment brokerages, trade unions, agricultural cooperatives, and youth work, but wished to ensure that these remained under clerical rather than lay leadership.

He also opposed the emergence of Daensism and Christian Democracy, warning against their "fallacious promises" in an 1896 pastoral letter, and refusing Arthur Verhaegen permission for a meeting of the Lige démocratique in Bruges in 1899.

[2] Originally buried in the city's cemetery, in 2002 his remains were transferred to the crypt of Bruges Cathedral.