Laeken in 1912 was a commune on the outskirts of Brussels. The King and his family lived in a castle there. Bourgeois families, attracted by this “royal” proximity, settled there. A canal runs through Laeken. The canal stimulated industrial development and job creation, leading to the immigration of a working class, often from rural areas. Living and working conditions were characterized by exploitation, dependence and precariousness.
Laeken 1912. Cardijn was 30 years old. He was appointed vicar in the parish of Our Lady of Laeken, which boasted a prestigious church that regularly welcomed the king and royal family. Ordained a priest in 1906, Cardijn had pursued studies, not in religious science, but in the humanities. He had travelled to England, the leading industrial power at the time, to see how workers were organizing themselves. Born into a working-class family, he had sworn to his dying father that he would devote his life to the advancement of young workers, harshly exploited in the context of booming industrialization.
Laeken 1912. Cardijn set up the first groups of young workers. In these groups, Cardijn gradually perfected the so-called YCW method: ‘See-Judge-Act’ and ‘Among them, by them, for them’! Cardijn taught young people to reflect on their living and working conditions and, above all, to see how, together, they could act to change them. In 1919, the development of these groups led to the creation of an autonomous movement known as Jeunesse Syndicaliste (Young Unionists).
The number of groups grew, and in 1925, the YCW - Young Christian Workers - was officially recognized. It was a movement of young workers, autonomous from all parties and unions, campaigning for greater social justice, based on respect for the dignity of each individual: “a young worker is worth more than all the gold in the world”! The YCW soon became an international reality, expanding to every continent.
Cardijn never stopped reaching out to young workers! He was created cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1965. He played an active role in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which opened the Catholic Church to the modern world.
Cardijn died in 1967. His tomb is in the Church of Our Lady of Laeken. The church also houses the tombs of the kings and all members of the royal family in the “royal crypt”, which is only occasionally open to the public. Cardijn's tomb is in the side nave, permanently open to the public.
In 2000, to mark the 75th anniversary of the YCW, an exhibition on Cardijn's life and the history of the YCW's development was permanently installed in the “royal” chapel of the church of Our Lady of Laeken and is accessible free of charge whenever the church is open. It was renewed in 2007 with the collaboration of KADOC, a documentation and research center on religion, culture and society. KADOC was again commissioned to update and modernize the exhibition, making it more “interactive” thanks to new technologies.
The inauguration will take place on May 1, 2025 as part of the YCW's 100th anniversary celebrations. Everyone is welcome!
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