Pope Francis’ ties with Belgium go back to the seminary

When the future Pope Francis was the provincial of the Argentine Jesuits, he visited Belgium several times in the 1970s as part of a university partnership. His own successor as provincial came from a family of Flemish immigrants who had been involved in the management of a textile factory, regarded by the Pope as a model of enterprise inspired by the Church's social doctrine.

These long-standing ties, in addition to the official aspect of the anniversary of the Catholic University of Leuven, certainly contributed to his desire for this visit.

“Pope Francis loves our country with a big heart,” Flemish journalist Emmanuel Van Lierde, author of two interviews with the Argentine pontiff, tells I.MEDIA.

At the heart of this affection and his knowledge of the country is the long-established twinning between the University of Namur and the University of Cordobà in Argentina. When he was Chancellor of this university as Provincial of the Jesuits, Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio visited Belgium every 18 months to thank Belgian patrons for their support ... and, certainly, to ensure that this patronage continued.

Another link is Pope Francis' fond memory of the economic model left by the Flandria textile mill, which operated until the 1990s near the Argentine town of Lujan, best known today for its Marian shrine.

This factory, founded by the Steverlynck family of Flemish origin, had structured its organization around the Church's social doctrine, ensuring that workers benefited from a share in dividends. In an interview with Emmanuel Van Lierde broadcast in March 2023, the Pope said: “You Belgians have made enormous progress.”

The factory no longer exists, but the soccer club that originated from it, and which also bears the name Flandria, still exists. The players wear the Flemish colors and play in Argentina's second division championship. And the brass band created for the factory workers still exists: It bears the name of Rerum Novarum, the social encyclical published in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII.

During his seminary training as a Jesuit, Jorge Mario Bergoglio befriended the son of the factory's financial director, a fellow Jesuit. “Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the son of Italian immigrants, and Dries Swinnen, the son of Belgian immigrants, certainly shared this experience of integration in Argentina for families who had emigrated from Europe. So a strong friendship developed,” says Emmanuel Van Lierde.

Fr. Dries Swinnen, who succeeded Jorge Mario Bergoglio as provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina in 1979, is taking part in the Pope's trip to Belgium. Eighty-four years old, he was even included in the official delegation on the papal plane, a rare honor for personalities from outside the Vatican.

Within the Belgian episcopate, the Pope maintains regular contact with Bishop Luc Van Looy, Bishop Emeritus of Ghent, who turned 83 this Saturday, September 28, during the papal visit.

In the 1990s, questions relating to the training of seminarians led the future pontiff, then auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, to work with Fr. Van Looy, then vicar general of the Salesians. The two men had agreed on the desirability of proposing joint curricula for diocesan seminarians and religious in formation. Unfortunately, the project failed to elicit a consensus within the Argentine episcopate.

The two men met again almost 20 years later. Bishop Van Looy, who had become the bishop of Ghent, met Pope Francis on numerous occasions, notably in his capacity as President of Caritas Europe. He was also on the first list of cardinals to be elevated to the purple on August 27, 2022. He stepped down due to criticism of his handling of abuse cases in his Diocese of Ghent and within the Salesian congregation. 

As he had already passed the age of 80, his resignation had no impact on the composition of the college of cardinal-electors. The only Belgian who could be called upon to elect the new pope in the event of a conclave remains Cardinal Jozef de Kesel, who retired as Archbishop of Malines-Brussels in 2023. He will remain cardinal elector until his 80th birthday on June 17, 2027.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels (1933-2019) is another Belgian with whom Pope Francis has had convergences. Then archbishop emeritus of Malines-Brussels and promoter of the reformist current, he was presented as a “kingmaker” during the 2013 conclave, and was invited to appear in the loggia.

The pontiff's link with the royal family is rooted in Belgium's support for the University of Cordoba. The twinning established with the University of Namur starting in 1958 led to the clinic taking the name Clínica Reina Fabiola in 1961, one year after the marriage of the King of the Belgians to the Spanish aristocrat. King Baudoin and his wife visited in 1964, two years after former King Leopold III, who had visited Cordobà in 1962 as part of the Latin American travels he had begun after his abdication. 

The death of Queen Fabiola in December 2014 led to the cancellation of a planned visit to the Vatican by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Pope Francis then expressed his condolences in a telegram, assuring the royal family that he was praying “fervently to the Lord to welcome his faithful servant into his kingdom of light and peace.” But few observers remembered the former Queen of the Belgians' links with Argentina.

Later, the Pope's meetings with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, as well as with King Emeritus Albert II and Queen Paola, helped to solidify this visit to Belgium, which had first been rumored at the start of his pontificate, in the context of the First World War commemorations.

The piety of Belgian sovereigns is understandably appreciated in the Vatican. King Philippe's presence at Benedict XVI's funeral on January 5, 2023, was particularly noteworthy. In extending an invitation to the Pope to visit Belgium, the King found an attentive ear, grateful for the long-standing ties between his country and Argentina.