Prof. Dr. Joseph Sebrechts: "primus inter pares".

“Bruges possesses many treasures of art from previous centuries, but the living treasure of Bruges is certainly Professor Sebrechts” (). With these words, Queen Elisabeth honoured the surgeon with whom she had closely worked with the Belgian Red Cross (Fig. 1). A few weeks later, on Easter morning, March 28 1948, Joseph Sebrechts passed away due to bleeding oesophageal varicose veins, as a consequence of cirrhosis caused by hepatitis. At the age of 63, after a hectic yet ascetic life, he stopped working on the eve of Palm Sunday, said goodbye to patients and collaborators, returned home, asked for the last rites after a massive haemorrhage, and died after being treated by his assistants and nurses during the entire Holy Week. His death was unexpected : in between operations, he was known to vomit blood now and then, but he hid everything from his nearest and dearest right up to the very end in order to not upset them needlessly. He died as he had lived : calm, only concerned about his patients, brave, full of confidence, and deeply faithful. On April 2nd 1948, he was honoured with a princely funeral procession. His coffin was carried by six assistants from his house to St. Salvator cathedral, with thousands from all strata of society mourning in the rain along the route, hearing the chimes of the triumphal bell in the Halletoren. After all, the term “zeebrechten” had become synonymous in West-Flanders with “surgery” (), and in the eyes of the people he had become a legend. Bruges had lost its most famous citizen. The clock in the front of the Minnewater clinic was stopped on the day of his passing, and has never operated since. After his death, the city changed the name of ‘Gasthuisstraat’ at the Minnewater into the ‘Prof. Dr. J. Sebrechtsstraat’, “in recognition of the exceptional merits of the late Professor Sebrechts, whose great compassion will live on in the appreciative memory of the people of Bruges”. The beautiful garden of his patrician house, which was visited by Queen Elisabeth and by Princess Josephine-Charlotte, became the city park “Hof Sebrechts”, with a memorial plaque as a gift from the family to remind passers-by of their famous fellow citizen. A bronze bust in his likeness (Fig. 2) was placed in Prof. Dr. Joseph Sebrechts : “primus inter pares”