Joseph Cardijn

Joseph Cardijn

Joseph Leo Cardijn (Dutch: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈleː.oː kɑrˈdɛi̯n]; 13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Catholic cardinal and the founder of the movement of Young Christian Workers (Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne, JOC).Cardijn was best known for his lifelong dedication to social activism and working towards the improvement of the working class; after his ordination, he made a particular focus of his life the effort to evangelize and bring the core messages of faith in the Gospel back to the working class, who he believed were neglected. He was not wrong in that assessment since old schoolmates working in the mines and mills believed the Church had abandoned them, which prompted Cardijn to found a social movement dedicated to this task despite the opposition that it faced.His movement received vocal praise and encouragement from Pope Pius XI. He demonstrated great zeal even after he had been imprisoned during World War II, which served to empower his positions on social change and to oppose rising inequalities. Cardijn was also an extensive traveller (visiting places such as Costa Rica and Australia) and was a recipient of several recognitions for his work in social activism. He served as a critical contributor to the Second Vatican Council, working closely with Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Joseph Cardijn has received more than 48,782 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 17 in 2019). Joseph Cardijn is the 1,458th most popular religious figure (down from 1,398th in 2019), the 311th most popular biography from Belgium (down from 310th in 2019) and the 15th most popular Belgian Religious Figure.