Honoré Jozef Coppieters (30 March 1874 – 20 December 1947) was a Belgian prelate who became, in 1927, the Bishop of Ghent.

[4] After that he attended the Catholic University of Leuven, emerging in 1902 with a doctorate and a Master of Theology qualification.

Coppieters received a ransom note, addressed to him personally on 30 April 1934, apparently sent by the thieves, in which they demanded a million Belgian francs for the safe return of the two stolen panels.

[8] Coppieters himself subsequently offered 25,000 Belgian francs for the safe return of the panels which some interpreted as evidencing a lack of commitment to the stolen artwork.

[8] In any event, only one of the panels had been returned by 2015, although a copy of the missing one, produced by the restorer Jef Van der Veken, has been substituted in the cathedral.