Jacques de Vitry

[1] He studied at the University of Paris, becoming a canon regular in 1210 at the Priory of Saint-Nicolas d'Oignies in the Diocese of Liège, a post he maintained until his consecration as bishop in 1216.

In 1219 he began to write the Historia Hierosolymitana, a history of the Holy Land from the advent of Islam until the crusades of his own day, but only two parts were completed.

[3] Jacques de Vitry was fascinated by the powers held by the beguines, such that they were paralleled with the priests of the time, yet functioned outside the church proper.

[4] Although this movement was unrecognized in the church, Jacques made appeal to Pope Honorius III to legitimize the work of their community, as well as the Liège diocese, all France and throughout the Holy Roman Empire.

[5] In 2015, the CROMIOSS project, led by the Archaeological Society of Namur (SAN) in partnership with several Belgian universities and research institutes, undertook an interdisciplinary scientific study around the reliquary of Jacques de Vitry, located in the church of Saint Marie d’Oigines in Belgium.