On the last day of January, Msgr. Everardus Antonius .M Baaij, S.C.I, passed away at the age of 90. Msgr. Baaij was the second bishop of the South African Diocese of Aliwal, from 1973 to 1981, but was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In his period as Aliwal’s chief shepherd, the South African Church made the transition to open opposition to the Apartheid policy, a change mainly noticed in the urban parishes of the diocese on South Africa’s southwestern coast. At the same time, the laity took on much more responsibility, only in part because of the shortage of priests, while Bishop Baaij held the see.
Bishop Baaij passed away at a senior living community in Port Elizabeth, having suffered heart failure in his final days. Despite having lived in South Africa for 55 years of his life, Bishop Baaij initially ministered in Canada and the United States, before leaving for the missions in South Africa. Pope Paul VI appointed him Bishop of Aliwal in 1973. His episcopal motto was Veni Creator. He resigned in 1981 for health reasons. He served as chaplain of Nazareth House in Port Elizabeth, where he also died.
The bishop will most likely be buried in Aliwal, according to the superior of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, the late bishop’s religious congregation.
Photo credit: Priests of the Sacred Heart
In Caelo et in Terra 
Requiem eternam dona ei Domine et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.