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The dicastery for the Causes of Saints launched on December 17 the cause of beatification and canonization of the former king of the Belgians, Baudouin (1930-1993), indicated the Holy See on December 21, 2024. This delicate file is carried personally by Pope Francis, who draws his argument from the monarch's opposition to the legalization of abortion in 1990.
On September 29, during the concluding mass of his trip to Belgium, Pope Francis created a surprise by announcing that he would open the process of beatification of King Baudouin, who reigned over Belgium from 1951 to 1993. Francis had given as an example of a leader, welcoming in particular his refusal to endorse a “homicidal law”. This deeply Catholic king refused to sign the legalization of abortion in 1990 and made himself “unable to reign” for 36 hours. This procedure, however, allowed the promulgation of this law without royal countersignature.
A lively controversy during his trip
The Pope's statement sparked intense controversy and generated criticism from the Belgian government. It also surprised the country's episcopate. “The bishops have never requested the beatification of King Baudouin”, confided Mgr Guy Harpigny, bishop of the diocese of Tournai, on the plateau of Noted Belgium.
Less than three months later, Rome took up this delicate matter. The dicastery responsible for studying sainthood files has started the process by establishing a Historical Commission composed of “specialists in archival research and the history of Belgium”, it is specified in the press release. These experts will have to gather the documentation and assess whether the life of the deceased king meets the criteria required to be recognized as a saint.
Usually, the candidates' files are introduced to Rome after a study in the dioceses of the future saints. This time, the Pope, wishing to personally advance this cause, entrusted the Roman dicastery to initiate the work directly.
A certain reserve?
The beatification process could encounter a certain reservation, because King Baudouin remains a “personality of contemporary history” about whom “many things remain to be discovered”, observed the Belgian journalist and historian Vincent Delcorps in I.MEDIA.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, declared last October that the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was a “black stain” in the case of King Baudouin, given the persistent controversies surrounding a possible involvement of Belgium in the elimination of this figure of the independence movement in Congo.
