Joseph Cardijn

Joseph Leo Cardijn (; 13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Catholic cardinal and the founder of the movement of Young Christian Workers (Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne, JOC).

Cardijn was best known for his lifelong dedication to social activism and working towards the improvement of the working class; after his ordination, he made a particular focus of his life the effort to evangelize and bring the core messages of faith in the Gospel back to the working class, who he believed were neglected. He was not wrong in that assessment since old schoolmates working in the mines and mills believed the Church had abandoned them, which prompted Cardijn to found a social movement dedicated to this task despite the opposition that it faced. He served as a critical contributor to the Second Vatican Council, working closely with Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. The latter named Cardijn as a cardinal in 1965.

Cardijn died in a Leuven hospital in 1967. The cause for the cardinal's beatification was initiated in 2014 and he is titled as a Servant of God. in 1967 this had increased to two million members in 69 different countries. His opponents often called him a communist or a pied piper. In January 1938 he sent a petition to the pope asking for him to initiate the causes of canonization for Margaret Sinclair and Pier Giorgio Frassati.

In 1940 the Gestapo arrested him, but released him from jail in September 1942. He refused to leave unless those captured and jailed alongside him were released with him. The Nazis refused this request and forced his departure from the prison. On 1 September 1944 the Nazis burst into the JOC headquarters to take him prisoner but he learned of this beforehand and fled out the back door to hide.

Cardijn had first come into contact with Paul VI when the latter was Father Montini serving in the Secretariat of State, and the two started corresponding. When Montini was appointed Archbishop of Milan, Cardijn's concern at losing a supporter and friend within the Secretariat was evident. He likewise expressed his nervousness at the election of John XXIII, since he did not know him and did not know how the new pope would respond to his movement.

He participated in the Second Vatican Council. Cardinal Basil Hume (in a 13 November 1982 speech to the Jocists) later noted that the council was Cardijn's "monument" due to the great and lingering contributions he made to it.

In Noarlunga Downs, Australia, the Cardijn College has been named in his honour. The school's motto is adopted from Cardijn's model. In South Africa it was used to support the development of the first black trade unions in Durban in the 1970s.

Recognitions The cardinal received several doctorates and recognitions during his career; in 1950 he received a distinction of the Légion d'honneur (French Legion of Honour). His awards include:

—from Université de Montréal (1947) —from Université d’Ottawa (23 June 1947) Unknown—from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (1948) Unknown—from Universidad de Santiago de Chile (1948) Unknown—from Universidad de São Paulo (1948) Doctor honoris causa—from Université catholique de Louvain (2 February 1951) —from Université Laval (23 December 1956) —from Université de Sherbrooke (23 December 1959) Unknown—from Université de Moncton (1962)

Beatification process In December 2013 the then Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels André-Joseph Léonard announced that he would launch the cause of beatification for Cardijn. The official request was lodged with the archbishop on 16 December and the archbishop launched the diocesan investigation on 16 January 2014; the cause is ongoing on the diocesan level.

The postulator for the cause was Mr. Guy Tordeur and the vice-postulator was Fr Felix Van Meerbergen.