Petrus Joseph Triest

Peter Joseph Triest (31 August 1760 – 24 June 1836) was a prelate of the Diocese of Ghent. He is known for his foundations of religious communities in this diocese, and has been called "the St. Vincent de Paul of Belgium".

Career
He was born in Brussels, the ninth of 14 children of Jan and Cecilia Mello Triest. His father was a blacksmith and ironmonger. Petrus was educated at the Jesuits' College of St. Michael and then at the Latin school in Geel. Saint Dymphna, patron saint of the mentally ill, is particularly honored at Geel, the site of her martyrdom.

He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Louvain. He then entered the Major Seminary, Mechelen, and was ordained priest in 1786 by Cardinal de Frankenberg. As a seminarian he was noted for his devotion to the Sacred Heart and great compassion for the needy and sick. He had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart. He was made vicar of Hanswijk in Mechelen in 1792. In 1795 Triest caught typhus while tending the sick during an outbreak at the military hospital, but recovered.

By request of Msgr Etienne Fallot de Beaumont, he was incardinated in the diocese of Ghent, because the borders of the diocese had been altered. After serving at a number of parishes around Mechelen, in 1796 he was appointed parish priest at Ronse. The city was occupied by forces of the French Revolution, and Triest continued pastoral work while spending much of the next five years in hiding, and traveling in disguise.

In 1803, he was transferred to Lovendegem. There he formed the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary to tend to the poor and sick. His motto was Deus Providevit (God will provide). In 1805, Triest was requested to bring the sisters to the former Terhagen Abbey in Ghent and expand their apostolate to care for the terminally ill. Napoleon gave them formal recognition as hospital sisters; they received pontifical approval in 1816.

He was made Canon of the Chapter of St Bavo's Cathedral and served on the Almhouses Commission. He also served on the Poor Relief Committee. In 1807, Triest found it necessary to take over the administration of the old men’s home in the Byloke. Thus began the Hospital Brothers of Saint Vincent, to care for poor elderly men. The congregation would later take the name Brothers of Charity. Both congregations undertook the care of the mentally ill housed in the crypts of Devil's Castle, an old fortress built to guard the port. Triest sent a small group of brothers to Froidmont to work at the psychiatric hospital of Saint Charles. In 1825, they opened a school for deaf boys in Ghent.

Triest emphasized the importance of a good formation, both religious and professional. The rules he wrote for his congregations joined contemplation to active service and show a distinct Cistercian influence. He did not hesitate to send members to France or the Netherlands for additional training in their various ministries. He worked with physician Joseph Guislain to devise in-house training for those working with the mentally ill. In 1828 Guislain became head of the psychiatric hospitals of Ghent, and with Triest, wrote a new internal regulation for them.

With the departure of the Alexian Brothers, who made home visits to the sick and buried the dead, city officials asked Triest to establish another congregation to fill the need. In 1823 he founded the Congregation of the Brothers of Saint John of God to provide homecare; and in 1835, the Sisters of the Childhood of Jesus to care for foundlings.

Triest died 24 June 1836 in Ghent, Belgium. in 2001 the Process for the Beatification of the Servant of God Peter Joseph Triest was solemnly opened on 26 August in Ghent Cathedral.

Honours

 * 1807: Honorary Canon of Saint-Bavo.
 * 1818: Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.
 * 1833: Knight of the Order of Leopold, by personal command of King Leopold I.