Prime Minister of China. A native of the Chinese Zhejiang Province, Lou Tseng-Tsiang was the son of a Protestant lay catechist. Entering the diplomatic service, he married a Belgian citizen, Berthe Bovy, in Saint Petersburg. Serving the Qing regime as minister to Belgium and ambassador to Russia, following the proclamation of the Chinese Republic he acted foreign minister and prime minister, personally heading the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Retiring from active life following the death of his wife, he converted to Catholicism and eventually entered the Benedictine Order at Sint-Andries in Bruges, receiving the name of Dom Pierre-Célestin. Ordained priest in 1935, Pope Pius XII appointed him abbot of the abbey of Saint Peter in Ghent in August 1946. His memoirs, 'Souvenirs et pensées', were published the previous year.
Prime Minister of China. A native of the Chinese Zhejiang Province, Lou Tseng-Tsiang was the son of a Protestant lay catechist. Entering the diplomatic service, he married a Belgian citizen, Berthe Bovy, in Saint Petersburg. Serving the Qing regime as minister to Belgium and ambassador to Russia, following the proclamation of the Chinese Republic he acted foreign minister and prime minister, personally heading the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Retiring from active life following the death of his wife, he converted to Catholicism and eventually entered the Benedictine Order at Sint-Andries in Bruges, receiving the name of Dom Pierre-Célestin. Ordained priest in 1935, Pope Pius XII appointed him abbot of the abbey of Saint Peter in Ghent in August 1946. His memoirs, 'Souvenirs et pensées', were published the previous year.
Bio by: Eman Bonnici
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