Joseph Cardijn

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Joseph Cardijn

Joseph Leon Cardinal Cardijn (born November 13, 1882 in Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek near Brussels , † July 25, 1967 in Leuven ) was a Roman Catholic clergyman and the founder of the international Christian working-class youth (CAJ).

Life

The hardship and problems of the working youth, which he observed in his environment, moved him to become a priest . That is why, after studying Catholic theology , sociology and political science, he received the sacrament of ordination in 1906 and began to build the CAJ in 1912 as a chaplain in Laeken / Laken . Many failures and difficulties accompanied these first attempts. In 1924 the national association of the Belgian CAJ was founded. In 1925 Pope Pius XI received Cardijn in audience and said to him: "I not only bless the CAJ, I make it my concern". From these beginnings of the movement of the young workers, the International Coordination of Christian Young Workers emerged in 1987 .

With this support, the international CAJ began to develop. Within 40 years it has spread to over 100 countries around the world. Cardijn himself was at the forefront of this development and personally oversaw it in many different states. At the diocesan convention in the diocese of Münster in 1961 , which he often visited, he was enthusiastically celebrated by 13,000 young people.

Pope Paul VI appointed Cardijn titular Archbishop of Tusuros on February 15, 1965 and took him one day after his episcopal ordination , which took place on November 21 of the same year by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels , Léon-Joseph Cardinal Suenens , as a cardinal deacon with the titled diaconia of San Michele Arcangelo into the College of Cardinals . At the Second Vatican Council , Cardinal Cardijn opened the discussion in the council hall about the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes in September and October 1965. Gaudium et Spes follows the CAJ's three-step method of “seeing - judging - acting”.

Shortly before his death in July 1967, his last words were: "We have to start ... We are only at the beginning". He was buried in the Liebfrauenkirche zu Laeken , Brussels.

Beatification process

The Archbishop of Brussels , André-Joseph Léonard , announced in 2013 that he would initiate a beatification process for Cardijn.

Fonts in German translation

  • The fateful hour of the workforce . National leadership of CAJ Germany, Essen 1955.
  • The apostolate of the young workers . Publishing house Die Quelle, Feldkirch 1956.
  • In the middle of life . National leadership of CAJ Germany, Essen 1963.
  • Lay people in the apostolate . Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 1964.

literature

  • Ursula Mock: Cardijn. Man and work . Lahn-Verlag, Limburg 1971, ISBN 3-7840-5002-6 .
  • Bernhard Antony (Hrsg.): On the workforce - decided on the workers' movement. 100 years of Joseph Cardijn . Matthias Grünewald Verlag Mainz 1982, ISBN 3-7867-1016-3 .

Web links

Commons : Joseph Cardijn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Joachim Sander: Theological commentary on the pastoral constitution about the church in today's world . In: Peter Hünermann, Bernd Jochen Hilberath (ed.): Herder's Theological Commentary on the Second Vatican Council , Herder Verlag, Freiburg 2009, Vol. 4, p. 669.
  2. ^ Catholic press agency Austria: Belgium: Beatification process for Cardijn . In: Vatican Radio , December 20, 2013, accessed October 30, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Cardijn, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cardijn, Joseph-Léon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian clergyman, founder of the international Christian working-class youth
DATE OF BIRTH November 13, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 1967
Place of death Lions