[3] His time in office saw the expansion of the cathedral from 1935 to 1938 and the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II.
Personally, Philippe did not confront the German occupiers, so as not to endanger religious and the activity of the church, which could already only exercise its functions to a limited extent.
[2] However, he avoided all contact with the German authorities, and made preparations in case the diocese became leaderless.
[2] The church was progressively forced out of public life by the German authorities; Christian organisations were forcibly dissolved, religious education was banned from the schools, the monasteries were abolished, and active religious communities were deprived of their property.
[2] The diocesan administration, on the other hand, remained the only intact Luxembourgish institution during World War II.