Roman Catholicism in Belgium
- Roman Catholicism in Belgium
The Belgium Catholic Church, part of the global Roman Catholic Church, is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome, and the Conference of Belgium Bishops.
There are eight dioceses, including one archdiocese, seat of the archiepiscopal residence and St. Rumbolds Cathedral, located in the old Dutch-speaking city of Mechlin (Malines in French). The current archbishop of Mechlin and primate of all Belgium is Cardinal Godfried Danneels. Danneels is a man of high culture and a patron of the arts, though he is not above relaxing to the Dixie sounds of New Orleans jazz.
The Belgium church established and sponsors the Catholic University of Leuven, the largest, oldest, and most prominent university in Belgium. It was founded by Pope Martin V in 1425. Some of its most notable graduates include Desiderius Erasmus, humanist, Georges Lemaitre, priest, astronomer, and proposer of the Big Bang theory, Otto von Habsburg, current head of the Habsburg family, Saint Alberto Hurtado, Chilean Jesuit priest who was canonized in 2005, Charles Jean de la Vallee-Poussin, mathematician who proved the prime number theorem, Christian de Dube, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1974, among others. The Belgian church also oversees the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the National Basilia of Belgium. There are over seven million Catholics in Belgium, about three quarters of the total population. However, as elsewhere in Europe, securalisation has hit hard in Belgium; Sunday church attendance has dropped well below 10% as per latest research such as from the "Centrum voor politicologie" of the Catholic University Leuven , author: Marc Hooghe, title: "kerkpraktijk in Vlaanderen"( [http://soc.kuleuven.be/pol/docs/0606-EP-Hooghe.pdf. Although sources are quoting different figures between 4 and 9 percent, a church attendance of 7 percent in 2007 seems to be the most likely figure. Early 2008, the Belgian Catholic Church has announced it will gather and publish adherance figures though the current usual Sunday attendance statistics does not seem to bother Cardinal Danneels, who said he was more concerned with the declining number of new priests. Though open-minded and respectful, his biggest distress is that there are not brighter men in the Church hierarchy. ["Where have all the thinkers gone? "The Tablet." May 31, 2008: 6-7 ]
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Roman Catholicism — the faith, practice, and system of government of the Roman Catholic Church. [1815 25] * * * Largest single Christian denomination in the world, with some one billion members, or about 18% of the world s population. The Roman Catholic church has… … Universalium
Roman Catholicism's links with political authorities — The Roman Catholic Church has had constantly evolving relationships with various forms of government, some of them controversial in retrospect. In its history it has had to deal with various concepts and systems of governance, from the Roman… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in Romania — The Roman Catholic Church ( ro. Biserica Romano Catolică din România) in Romania is a Latin Church Christian church, part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome. Its administration is… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in France — The Roman Catholic Church of France, sometimes called the eldest daughter of the Church owing to its early and unbroken communion (2nd century) with the bishop of Rome, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The French church is under the… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in Croatia — Cathedral of St. Duje in Split in Split, the oldest cathedral in the world … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in Italy — St Peter s Basilica and Vatican City, in Rome are where the bishop of Rome (pope) resides. The Vatican City is in Italy, however is not part of the country, as it is an independent nation. The Italian Catholic Church is part of the global Roman… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — The Roman Catholic Church in Congo (Kinshasa) is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.There are around 30 million Catholics in the country, representing about half of the total… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholicism in Luxembourg — The Roman Catholic Church in Luxembourg is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. The whole country is covered by the Archdiocese of Luxembourg.The Catholic Church in Luxembourg… … Wikipedia
Roman Catholic Relief Bill — • Sections on England and Ireland Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Roman Catholic Relief Bill Roman Catholic Relief Bill … Catholic encyclopedia
Roman Colleges — • This article treats of the various colleges in Rome which have been founded under ecclesiastical auspices and are under ecclesiastical direction, with the exception of those that are treated separately under their respective titles throughout… … Catholic encyclopedia
