Adolf Daens
Encyclopedia
Adolf Daens was a Flemish priest from Aalst
Aalst, Belgium
Aalst is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 19 miles northwest from Brussels. It is located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade,...
. Daens was a Jesuit from 1859 to 1871 but is especially known for his socio-political involvement after he joined the diocesan clergy. He created the Daensist movement from which originated in 1893 the Christene Volkspartij
Christene Volkspartij
The Christene Volkspartij was the first Belgian Christian democratic political party. The party was founded in 1891 by the Belgian priest Adolf Daens, who was inspired by the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII....
inspired by Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
's encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...
. The Christene Volkspartij
Christene Volkspartij
The Christene Volkspartij was the first Belgian Christian democratic political party. The party was founded in 1891 by the Belgian priest Adolf Daens, who was inspired by the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII....
forced the radicalisation and democratisation of the Catholic party
Catholic Party (Belgium)
The first Catholic Party in Belgium was established in 1869 as the Confessional Catholic Party .-History:In 1852 a Union Constitutionelle et Conservatrice was founded in Ghent, in Leuven , and in Antwerp and Brussels in 1858, which were active only during elections...
.
Adolf Daens was elected member of the Belgian parliament in 1894. Rightist groups in the Catholic Church obtained his condemnation by his bishop (1898), which did not prevent him from being reelected M.P. (1902–1906). He contributed much to the growing social awareness among Catholics in Belgium, and is a major figure of the Flemish movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
as well as in the history of Belgian trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s.
In 1971, Louis Paul Boon
Louis Paul Boon
Louis Paul Boon was a Flemish journalist and novelist who is considered one of the major 20th century writers in the Dutch language...
published the novel Daens (full title: Pieter Daens of hoe in de negentiende eeuw de arbeiders van Aalst vochten tegen armoede en onrecht, i.e., "Pieter Daens or How the workers of Aalst fought poverty and injustice in the 19th century") in which Adolf's brother Pieter Daens is the narrator. This book served as basis for Stijn Coninx
Stijn Coninx
Stijn, Baron Coninx is a Belgian film director best known for the movie Daens. He was made a Baron by King Albert II of Belgium...
's film Daens
Daens (film)
Daens is a 1992 Belgian film directed by Stijn Coninx. This 1992 drama starring Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck and Michael Pas, tells the true story of Adolf Daens, a Catholic priest in Aalst who strives to improve the miserable working conditions in the local factories...
in 1992 (with Jan Decleir
Jan Decleir
Jan Decleir is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp .He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers "Mira" and has since then appeared in countless Flemish and Dutch films and tv productions...
as Adolf Daens).
In 2005 he ended fifth place in the Flemish version of the election of De Grootste Belg
De Grootste Belg
De Grootste Belg was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, public radio broadcaster Radio 1, and newspaper De Standaard, to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all time...
("The Greatest Belgian").
A dramatised musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
based on the Coninx film, and starring Lucas Van Den Eynde, Jo De Meyere, Jelle Cleymans and Free Souffriau
Free Souffriau
Free Souffriau is a Flemish musical actress and singer. Free is a Dutch spelling of Fré and is hence pronounced 'fray' in contrast to the usual pronunciation of 'free' in English....
, ran in Antwerp from October 2008 to February 2009 to much critical acclaim.
See also
- Louis Paul BoonLouis Paul BoonLouis Paul Boon was a Flemish journalist and novelist who is considered one of the major 20th century writers in the Dutch language...
, Pieter Daens of hoe in de negentiende eeuw de arbeiders van Aalst vochten tegen armoede en onrecht (1971) - History of BelgiumHistory of BelgiumThe history of Belgium, from pre-history to the present day, is intertwined with the histories of its European neighbours, in particular those of the Netherlands and Luxembourg...
- Politics of BelgiumPolitics of BelgiumPolitics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
- Politics of FlandersPolitics of FlandersFlanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.Historically, the contemporary Flemish community grew out of the Catholic southern part of the medieval XVII provinces of the Low Countries. The contemporary Belgian Flanders area...
- Charles WoesteCharles WoesteCharles, Count Woeste was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician of German descent.He was born in Brussels, the son of Edouard Woeste, who was of Prussian descent and who became a naturalized Belgian on 15 January 1841. Edouard Woeste was consul for Prussia from 1843 to 1853, and married Constance...