Desiré-Joseph Mercier
Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Cardinal Mercier (born November 21, 1851 at Château du Castegier near Braine-l'Alleud , Belgium; † January 23, 1926 in Brussels ) was Archbishop of Mechelen .
Life
Desiré-Joseph Mercier received a humanistic education and then studied Catholic theology , philosophy and psychology in Mechelen , Leuven and Paris . He received on 4 April 1874, the sacrament of holy orders and received his doctorate for further studies as a doctor of philosophy.
From 1877 to 1882 Mercier led the seminary in Mechelen and taught philosophy. From 1882 to 1905 he lectured as a full professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven . In addition, he carried out various leadership tasks in the priestly education of his diocese and published a philosophical journal. He founded an institute ( Institut supérieur de Philosophie in Leuven) and a seminar called "Leo XIII.". He headed both institutions.
In 1906 Desiré Joseph Mercier by Pope Pius X to the archbishop of Mechelen appointed. He received his episcopal consecration on March 25, 1906, the Apostolic Nuncio in Belgium and later Cardinal Antonio Vico . His motto was Apostolus Jesus Christ .
On April 15, 1907, the Pope accepted him into the College of Cardinals as a cardinal priest with the titular church of San Pietro in Vincoli .
Mercier also became a primate of Belgium. As a scientist, he promoted Neuthomism .
In the first World War
In 1914, Belgium was largely occupied by German troops. While King Albert I had to flee into exile from the German occupation in World War I , Mercier organized resistance in Belgium. Moritz Freiherr von Bissing , Governor General in Belgium (1914-1917), forbade Mercier's pastoral letter to be read out in Belgian churches on New Year's Day 1915.
After the war
In 1920 he founded the "International Association for Social Studies". The social principles of Mechelen were formulated under his leadership . He was involved in questions of ecumenism . At the political level he was directed against Flemish independence movements and against the use of the Dutch language in church and school. In particular, he rejected the introduction of the Dutch language as a university language because he considered French in principle to be culturally superior. This attitude earned him the displeasure of many Flemish-minded Catholic priests and Christians; A caustic caricature appeared in which the cardinal said, " Moi je suis d'une race destinée à dominer et vous d'une race destinée à servir. »(German:“ I am a member of a race that is destined to rule, while you are members of a race that is destined to serve. ”) Is quoted. It is unclear whether he ever put it that way.
Mercier was buried in St. Romualds Cathedral in Mechelen.
honors and awards
Order of Merit
- Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
- Burgerlijk Kruis 1st class 1914–1918 (Belgium)
- Regeringsmedaille van Koning Leopold II. (Belgium)
- Honor and Devotion Grand Cross Bailli of the Order of Malta
- Grand Cross of the Order of St. Mauritius and Lazarus
- Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg)
- New Year's Eve Order (Vatican)
- Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Vatican)
- Order of the Double Dragon (China)
- Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
- Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
- Order of Christ (Portugal)
- Russian Order of Saint Anne (Russia)
- Order of Carol I (Romania)
- Order of El Sol del Perú (Peru)
- Order of Charles III. (Spain)
- Solidarity Order 2nd Class (Peru)
- Medal of Merit of the Red Cross Romania
- Medal of Merit of the Red Cross USA
Memberships
- Admission to the order of knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
- Admission to the French Legion of Honor
Works (selection)
- Contre les barbaren. Lettres, mandements, protestations du primat de Belgique pendant l'occupation allemande. Blond & Gay, Paris 1917.
- Métaphysique génerale ou ontologie. Université, Leuven 1919.
- Les origines de la psychologie contemporaire. Université, Leuven 1925.
- Patriotism et endurance. Dessain, Malines 1914.
- Priesthood and priesthood. (« A mes séminaristes »). Steffen, Limburg 1922.
- The voice of Belgium. Being the war utterances of Cardinal Mercier. Burns & Oates, London 1977.
literature
- (Festschrift as obituary): Le cardinal Mercier. 1851-1926. Desmet-Verteneuil, Brussels 1927.
- Édouard Beauduin: Le Cardinal Mercier. Casterman, Tournai 1966.
- David A. Boileau: Cardinal Mercier. A memoir. Peeters, Leuven 1996, ISBN 90-6831-862-4 .
- David A. Boileau: Cardinal Mercier's philosophical essays. A study in Neo-Thomism. Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1104-2 .
- John A. Gade: The life of Cardinal Mercier. Scribner, New York 1935.
- Georges Goyau: Le Cardinal Mercier. Flammarion, Paris 1930.
- Ilse Meseberg-Haubold: Cardinal Mercier's resistance to the German occupation of Belgium 1914-1918. A contribution to the political role of Catholicism in the First World War. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, Bern 1982, ISBN 3-8204-6257-0 .
- George Tyrrell : Medievalism. A reply to Cardinal Mercier. Christian Classics Edition, Allen, Tex. 1974, ISBN 0-87061-207-7 (reprint of London 1909 edition).
- Jan de Volder: Cardinal Mercier in the First World War. Belgium, Germany and the Catholic Church (= KADOC studies on religion, culture & society , vol. 23). Leuven University Press, Leuven 2018, ISBN 978-94-6270-164-9 .
- Ludwig Volk : Cardinal Mercier, the German episcopate and the neutrality policy of Benedict XV. 1914-1916 . In: Voices of the time 192 (1974), pp. 611–630.
Web links
- Mercier, Desiré. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed August 5, 2016.
- Entry on Désiré-Joseph Mercier on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on August 5, 2016.
- Literature by and about Désiré-Joseph Mercier in the catalog of the German National Library
- Newspaper article about Désiré-Joseph Mercier in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
- Honors Désiré-Joseph Mercier (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ^ Robrecht Boudens: La prédication verbale et les cadres prédicatifs. Peeters Publishers, Leuven-Louvain 1995, ISBN 90-6831-771-7 , chap. 3, p. 196, limited preview in Google Book search
- ↑ Boudens: La prédication verbale et les cadres prédicatifs , pp. 207ff. limited preview in Google Book search
- ↑ " Ook de hogere clerus was in hetzelfde bedje ziek. Volgens Kardinaal Mercier was het Nederlands geen taal om aan een universiteit te gebruiken. "(German:" The higher clergy were also biased. According to Cardinal Mercier, Dutch was not a language that could be used at a university. ") Het Vlaamse Kruis. History k. ( Memento of December 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 214 kB), p. 14
- ↑ Caricature on the suppression of the Dutch language by the ruling class in the Catholic Church: Spotprent . In the cartoon, some of the Flemish priests wear muzzles; a Gallic rooster is enthroned on Cardinal Mercier's miter.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Lambert Cardinal Goossens |
Archbishop of Mechelen 1906–1926 |
Cardinal Jozef-Ernest Van Roey |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mercier, Désiré-Joseph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cardinal Mercier, Desiré-Félicien-François-Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian clergyman, Archbishop of Mechelen and Cardinal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 21, 1851 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Braine-l'Alleud |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 23, 1926 |
| Place of death | Brussels |