He attended secondary school in Eeklo and entered the Diocesan Seminary in Ghent in 1977.

He studied philosophy at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Theology at the diocesan seminary.

[1] He was ordained priest on 7 July 1984 and in 1988 obtained a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

[2] On 5 October 2016, Pope Francis appointed him to succeed Jozef De Kesel as Bishop of Bruges.

[5] He was consecrated on 4 December by Cardinal de Kesel, in the Cathedral of Saint Saviour.