Jozef Marianus "Jos" Punt (born 10 January 1946) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam in the Netherlands from 2001 to 2020.
Early life
Joseph Marianus Punt was born on 10 January 1946 in
Alkmaar,
North Holland,
Netherlands. In his years as a student of
economics in
Amsterdam Punt distanced himself from the Catholic religion of his youth and was more involved in esotericism,
gnosticism and
Rosicrucianism. Upon discovering the
Bible however, he began considering a career in the
priesthood. He went to the south of the country where at the time there existed the only Catholic Dutch Seminary. In 1973 he obtained a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Amsterdam.
Roman Catholic Church
In 1979 he became a
priest, ordained by Bishop of Roermond
Joannes Gijsen. In the Seminary he taught the Social Teachings of the Church, and he got also his
PhD in that field from
Augsburg University in
Germany.
Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Haarlem 1995; he was ordained by the local ordinary, bishop Henny Bomers. Punt was also appointed as apostolic administrator for the Military Ordinariate.
In 1998 Bomers died suddenly after suffering a heart attack. Punt was appointed Apostolic Administrator. On 21 July 2001 he was appointed bishop of Haarlem.[ Bisdominformatie, Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam. Retrieved on 7 January 2012.] He was assisted by auxiliary bishop Johannes Gerardus Maria Hendriks, who was appointed coadjutor bishop in December 2018 and succeeded him as bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam on 1 June 2020.
Punt was the 13th bishop of the diocese, which was established in 1559. Due to the Protestant Reformation there was no bishop in Haarlem, or the Netherlands, for 300 years, until 1853.
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 1 June 2020.
Religious views
Bishop Punt has indicated a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary because he took as his motto
Sub tuum praesidium, the opening phrase of a Marian hymn. He supports a proposal of the Lourdes Foundation of Amstel to construct a pilgrimage church modeled on
Hagia Sophia to be built in honor of
Maria Vrouwe van Alle Volkeren.
[ "Bishop Jos Punt wants a monumental pilgrimage church in Amsterdam", Kirknet. May 26, 2016]
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