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The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Belgium

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This page contains a list of the greatest Belgian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 21 of which were born in Belgium. This makes Belgium the birth place of the 23rd most number of Religious Figures behind Austria and Ireland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Belgian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Belgian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Belgian Religious Figures.

Photo of Father Damien

1. Father Damien (1840 - 1889)

With an HPI of 66.48, Father Damien is the most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damiaan van Molokai; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious institute. He was recognized for his ministry, which he led from 1873 until his death in 1889, in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to people with leprosy (Hansen's disease), who lived in government-mandated medical quarantine in a settlement on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokaʻi.During this time, he taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. Father Damien also cared for the patients and established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate poi with them, providing both medical and emotional support. After 11 years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, Father Damien contracted leprosy. He continued with his work despite the infection but finally succumbed to the disease on 15 April 1889. Father Damien also had tuberculosis, which worsened his condition, but some believe the reason he volunteered in the first place was due to tuberculosis.Father Damien has been described as a "martyr of charity". Damien De Veuster is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. In the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for leprosy and outcasts. Father Damien Day, 15 April, the day of his death, is also a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. Father Damien is the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii. Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009. Libert H. Boeynaems, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, calls him "the Apostle of the Lepers." Damien De Veuster's feast day is 10 May.

Photo of Gertrude of Nivelles

2. Gertrude of Nivelles (626 - 659)

With an HPI of 62.66, Gertrude of Nivelles is the 2nd most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled Geretrude, Geretrudis, Gertrud; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium.

Photo of Bavo of Ghent

3. Bavo of Ghent (589 - 654)

With an HPI of 59.42, Bavo of Ghent is the 3rd most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Saint Bavo of Ghent (also known as Bavon, Allowin, Bavonius, Baaf; AD 622–659) is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and the brother of saints Begga and Gertrude of Nivelles.

Photo of Godfried Danneels

4. Godfried Danneels (1933 - 2019)

With an HPI of 58.39, Godfried Danneels is the 4th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Godfried Maria Jules Danneels (4 June 1933 – 14 March 2019) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the chairman of the episcopal conference of his native country from 1979 to 2010. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. His resignation that he had submitted in 2008 at the age of 75 was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 January 2010.

Photo of Gudula

5. Gudula (646 - )

With an HPI of 57.71, Gudula is the 5th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography (Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia called Witger and Amalberga of Maubeuge. She died between 680 and 714. Her name is connected to several places: Moorsel (where she lived) Brussels (where a chapter in her honour was founded in 1047) Eibingen (where the relic of her skull is conserved).In Brabant she is usually called Goedele or Goule; (Latin: Gudila, later Gudula, Dutch: Sinte Goedele, French: Sainte Gudule).

Photo of Lutgardis

6. Lutgardis (1182 - 1246)

With an HPI of 57.10, Lutgardis is the 6th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Lutgardis of Aywières (Dutch: Sint-Ludgardis; 1182 – 16 June 1246; also spelled Lutgarde) is a saint from the medieval Low Countries. She was born in Tongeren, known as Tongres in French (which is why she is also called Lutgardis of Tongres or Luitgard of Tonger(e)n), and entered monastic life at the age of twelve. During her life various miracles were attributed to her, and she is known to have experienced religious ecstasy. Her feast day is 16 June.

Photo of Begga

7. Begga (615 - 693)

With an HPI of 57.05, Begga is the 7th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Saint Begga (also Begue, Beghe, Begge) (b. 615 – d. 17 December 693) 7 was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta of Metz. She is also the grandmother of Charles Martel, who is the grandfather of Charlemagne.

Photo of Rimbert

8. Rimbert (830 - 888)

With an HPI of 56.50, Rimbert is the 8th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Saint Rimbert (or Rembert) (c. 830 - 11 June 888 in Bremen) was archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, in the northern part of the Kingdom of East Frankia from 865 until his death in 888. He most famously wrote the hagiography about the life Ansgar, the Vita Ansgari, one of the most popular hagiographies of middle ages.

Photo of Adalard of Corbie

9. Adalard of Corbie (751 - 827)

With an HPI of 56.01, Adalard of Corbie is the 9th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Adalard of Corbie (Latin: Adalhardus Corbeiensis; c. 751, Huise – 2 January 827) was the son of Bernard who was the son of Charles Martel and half-brother of Pepin; Charlemagne was his cousin. He is recognised as a saint within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church.

Photo of Désiré-Joseph Mercier

10. Désiré-Joseph Mercier (1851 - 1926)

With an HPI of 55.86, Désiré-Joseph Mercier is the 10th most famous Belgian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. He was known for his book, Les origines de la psychologie contemporaine (1897). His scholarship gained him recognition from the Pope and he was appointed as Archbishop of Mechelen (Malines), serving from 1906 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907. Mercier is noted for his staunch resistance to the German occupation of 1914–1918 during the Great War. After the invasion, he distributed a strong pastoral letter, Patriotism and Endurance, to be read in all his churches, urging the people to keep up their spirits. He served as a model of resistance.

Pantheon has 21 people classified as religious figures born between 589 and 1987. Of these 21, 1 (4.76%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Jozef De Kesel. The most famous deceased religious figures include Father Damien, Gertrude of Nivelles, and Bavo of Ghent. As of April 2022, 3 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Lutgardis, Chrodegang, and Peter Jan Beckx.

Living Religious Figures

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Deceased Religious Figures

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Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)

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Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 9 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.