Cardinal raises questions on ‘hasty beatification’ plans for King Baudouin of Belgium

ACI Africa, Nov 5, 2024 / 15:00 pm

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, OFM Cap, the local ordinary the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), has raised questions about the “hasty beatification” of King Baudouin of Belgium. 

Ambongo, who was speaking at a media briefing in Rome days before the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality, weighed in on Pope Francis’ Sept. 29 surprise announcement to thousands of participants during Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels that “on my return to Rome, I will open the process for the beatification of King Baudouin.”

Amid cheers and applause from the participants, the Holy Father went on to call the late Catholic who chose to temporarily abdicate his throne rather than sign a law legalizing abortion a man of faith who serves as an example for leaders today. 

Pope Francis also called upon Catholic bishops in Belgium to “commit themselves” to advancing Baudouin’s canonization cause.

At the Oct. 22 media briefing in Rome, Ambongo said that while Pope Francis’ pronouncements conform to “the wish of the Church in Belgium,” the late Catholic king of Belgium has been reportedly linked to the 1961 assassination of the pioneer Congolese prime minister of DRC, Patrice Lumumba.

“There is still this file, which we can call a dark spot,” the cardinal said in what has been described as raising “a red flag” about the announcement the pope made during his pastoral visit to Belgium in September.

The cardinal emphasized the need to “search in the past to see what is there” and added that in reference to the late Belgian king, “we do not know the meanders of his life.”

Ambongo, however, expressed his openness to King Baudouin’s beatification “if his file evolves well.”

“For us, he [Baudouin] is a politician who has been brave in the context of Belgium; he was very brave,” Ambongo said. “We say he was the one who gave independence to Congo.”

“If the case moves in the direction that some people want, in order to present him for beatification, we are open to it,” he said.

King Baudouin’s more than 40-year reign, from 1951–1993, was marked by intense social, political, and religious upheaval in Belgium and around the world. Despite all of this change, Baudouin is said to have carried out his duties with complete devotion to his country and to his Catholic faith, serving as one of the few unifying factors in Belgium for which he was beloved by his people.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.