“What we have to aspire to is to be saints,” the relatives of the late Belgian King Baudouin recall him urging. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Baudouin family
Madrid, Spain, Dec 30, 2024 / 11:55 am (CNA).
After praying silently at King Baudouin’s tomb during his recent trip to Belgium, Pope Francis announced the opening of the king’s beatification process, news long awaited above all by those who knew him and witnessed a life dedicated to attaining holiness.
“He saw Jesus in people’s faces. He looked at you as if you were unique in the world, he made you aware of your existence and gave you dignity,” they said. This is the mark that King Baudouin left on those he crossed paths with, even if only for a moment. These are the words of one of the two relatives of Baudouin and of his wife, Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, who spoke to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, and whose names will not be revealed out of respect for the family’s privacy.
In the interview, the relatives reflected on how King Baudouin’s faith helped him to transmit values such as solidarity, respect for human dignity, and the defense of life in all circumstances, becoming a unifying figure in society.
He decided to take Mary as a mother
One of the moments that marked the life of the monarch was the early loss of his mother, Astrid of Sweden, in a car accident when Baudouin was 4 years old.
It was then that he decided to “take the Virgin as his mother,” something he himself explained years later. “From then on, Mary probably protected him in a very special way and guided his spiritual life,” one of his relatives said.
“He really had a very strong relationship with Mary. He used to say that he wanted to be like a fetus in her womb, to be unable to do anything without her and to live only through her, not even to breathe without her, to be totally dependent. He often called out to her and addressed her as mom,” the relative added.
Both relatives highlighted other crucial events in the king’s life, especially during his childhood and adolescence, such as his father’s second marriage and the years of exile after the Nazi invasion during World War II. “It was a very difficult time and it was hard to go through it as a child,” they explained.
Baudouin came to the throne at age 19, and the beginning of his reign was marked by a deep crisis known as the “Royal Question” related to the controversy over the decisions of his father, Leopold III, during World War II.
“He suffered a lot because of all this, but I know that it was his faith that helped him overcome it,” one of the relatives said.
His upbringing was greatly affected by a Dominican priest from Switzerland who “had a great spiritual influence” during his youth. He was also guided by Cardinal Leo Jozef Suenens, whose meeting with him in the autumn of 1959 left a deep mark on him until the day of his death.
The cardinal, together with Veronica O’Brien, a Legion of Mary missionary to whom he was introduced in March 1960, were fundamental in King Baudouin’s spiritual life.
He wanted to be a martyr
“He said that when he got to know Jesus, he wanted to be a martyr. He wanted to go to Africa, Asia, wherever, and die as a martyr. Of course, he couldn’t do that because he knew that one day he would be a king and he had to serve his country. So, he decided to be a saint and a martyr in his own way, in his position,” one of his relatives said.
“And he suffered a lot physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When he suffered, I remember he said: ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ He gave thanks because, through the suffering, he felt that he was helping him carry his cross,” the relative added.
He saw Jesus in people’s faces
One of the relatives remembers that “from a very early age, Baudouin had a personal and special relationship with God, dedicating his life to seeing in others the face of Christ and especially of the abandoned Jesus in those who suffered.”
“The respect he had for each person he met was due to the fact that he saw Jesus in that person, regardless of religion; he respected that person as a child of God, seeing Jesus.”
The relatives said the testimonies of those who knew him agree on the same thing: “He lived in the present moment, he looked at you as if you were unique in the world; he saw Jesus in everyone.”
State visits ended in his private chapel
Baudouin’s faith profoundly influenced his way of governing the country, impacting his official visits and the politicians he met in Belgium, even in very difficult situations.
“Many heads of state and personalities who came to meet him, in the end, regardless of their religion or beliefs, or whether they didn’t believe in anything, ended up in the private chapel with the king. And they were praying together, or he prayed with them. Such an experience would undoubtedly have deeply touched the hearts of these people,” his relatives told ACI Prensa.
They said these personalities accepted the king’s invitation because “they knew there was something about this man. You felt love emanating from him. I think people felt there was something different about the way he treated them. Maybe they didn’t understand it, but there was something supernatural about him, he was extraordinary; he was out of the ordinary. Even if you weren’t a spiritual person or didn’t believe in God, you knew this person was special.”
“There have been people who have been so impacted by his gaze that even years later, they still have in their hearts the way he looked at them. He radiated love, the love of God radiated through his gaze.”
They also pointed out that “he always promoted dialogue and peace, because he prayed a lot, he never stopped doing so, he always prayed before the Blessed Sacrament before receiving any personality.”
They also pointed out that “he was very open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and was very humble; he was an instrument of peace and dialogue in this country, because he had the ability to unite people for the common good, something that is not always easy in a political situation or when forming a government with different parties.”
“I think people never left an audience with the king the same — something changed in their hearts, and I am sure that it also influenced the political mentality. He left no one indifferent. Even though he was a king, in the end you felt at ease, although he was also zealous for his privacy and his spirituality, which he referred to as ‘his secret garden.’”
‘He told me about his love for God and that marked me forever’
One of the relatives got emotional when remembering how she felt drawn to him since she was a child. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I always wanted to be by his side. And at 17 years old I understood it, because he told me about his love for God, and that marked me and changed my life forever.”
“It was the first time someone told me about his personal relationship with God; it was very impressive, at that moment I understood why I felt drawn to him and that was when I converted, because I knew that God existed, but I didn’t know that I could have a relationship with him, and I understood that it was possible… He explained it to me and encouraged me to live this faith.”
They emphasized that in the family “everyone was drawn to him” and that he always “tried to evangelize with respect, both with the different personalities and with our family. For us it was a privilege to know him,” they added.
One of the most special places for King Baudouin was “Villa Astrida,” his summer home in the town of Motril in Granada province, Spain, where he died on July 31, 1993, at the age of 62 from a sudden heart attack.
“There he always tried to evangelize by sharing his faith, especially during the summers, with his example, with what he said and with the prayer groups that he organized especially with the youngest members of the family.”
Both relatives smiled as they recalled his joy: “He had a great sense of humor and always tried to make the family enjoy themselves. Motril was like a piece of joy; when people talk about Motril, they all say it was a paradise.”
“What was also special was being able to go to Mass in the chapel every day and pray the rosary. There was a long corridor and we could put out all the chairs for those who wanted to come. The invitation was always freely given,” they explained.
They emphasized that everyone in the family “was touched in some way” and that, in fact, several nephews and nieces, now priests or nuns, discovered their vocation thanks to him. “But many of us, with different vocations, were somehow transformed.”
The ‘extraordinary’ marital union of the royals
Regarding the marriage of the royals, the relatives said their example was “extraordinary.”
“They were a very close couple, above all because of their tenderness; they were not afraid to show it even with gestures of affection. They looked at each other with such tenderness, holding hands, by the arm.”
They remembered that Baudouin “didn’t mind hugging her in public and would give her a big kiss on the cheek and say things like, ‘You are the life of my heart and the heart of my life.’”
“I have never seen anything like that. Never. They had a tenderness and a spiritual love, because they both wanted to serve Jesus and both saw Jesus in the other. They were very aware that they had the mission of bringing Jesus to others as a couple, in their position.”
He ‘asked Jesus to act through his hands’
During his audiences, official visits and meetings with the people, Baudoin would shake hands with a large number of people. He was aware of this and “asked Jesus to act through his hands.”
“He wanted people to know Jesus when he greeted them, with the touch of his hands, so he prayed to be an instrument and to be able to transmit Jesus; especially when shaking hands, he asked to be a means to bring Christ to others.”
Baudouin, according to his relatives, was aware of this, and that is why he said: “I use my hands, when the people touch me, so that I can transmit the Lord. And who knows, the Lord can use them in different ways, even to heal or convert.”
“He was very specific about this. I don’t know if we will ever know, but I think that many people were converted and were healed spiritually, emotionally, and who knows if physically, through his hands,” one of them commented.
A shepherd to his people
The relatives remembered how people who were suffering attracted Baudouin “like a magnet,” since he had “a special sensitivity toward them — he tried to transmit Jesus to them, to love them and make them see that they were children of God and immensely loved by him.”
“I remember in particular how deeply he was affected by the victims of human trafficking. In the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the U.N., Baudouin was able to talk to people who explained to him the reality of this tragedy.”
“He told us, and I know he did,” the relative continued, “that he would go and see in private, without anyone knowing, people who were suffering from this. The king went to Antwerp and met in private with women who had been victims of prostitution and human trafficking. He went to see them to comfort them, listen to them, hug them, and cry with them.”
It was one of them, a Filipina, who shared her testimony at the king’s funeral. “However, she was unable to do so because she kept crying. She said she had lost a friend.”
They pointed out that he also went to see people in palliative care, dying and sick people, without telling the press. “At home it was the same, I remember when I heard him say that he was going to see the cook’s wife, who had cancer. He went to see her at night in the hospital.”
“The same way in the government. A minister lost his son and he went to console his family, very discreetly. He was the shepherd of his people; everyone was important to him, as Cardinal Godfried Danneels described him in the homily at his funeral.”
Beatification process
The relatives said the news of the opening of Baudouin’s beatification process was received by the family “with great joy; we couldn’t believe it, it’s incredible.” Pope Francis, one of them added, “could have made the decision on his own and so it happened. In the family we also understood that it was probably the best decision and that he really didn’t do it randomly.”
“How long will the process take? Who knows. That’s not in our hands. But we can no longer turn back, that is certain,” they said.
The day before the announcement, Sept. 28, was the “Global Day for Access to Legal and Safe Abortion,” something that, they say, “probably gave Pope Francis the impetus.”
“He decided to speak very forcefully about abortion, with very tough words, which really disturbed many people,” the relatives said and praised the king for his brave stance on this issue.
“I remember an anecdote from years ago, when a friend of mine had the opportunity to give Pope Francis during a general audience the first book written about the king by Cardinal Suenens, [‘Baudouin, King of the Belgians: The Hidden Life’]. It was quite a few years ago, and when giving it to him, Pope Francis said to him: ‘How long will it take to make him a saint?’”
They also pointed out that the Holy Father knew the life and testimony of King Baudouin because the well-known Queen Fabiola University Clinic was located in Córdoba, Argentina.
His opposition to abortion
One of the most significant moments of Baudouin’s reign was when, on April 3, 1990, he found himself in the position of having to sign the law that decriminalized abortion in the country.
The relatives pointed out that, despite what the majority claims, he did not resign, but rather “the government devised a solution” in which the council of ministers noted the impossibility of reigning for reasons of [conflict of] conscience, which was addressed in Article 82 of the Constitution.”
“After declaring the king’s inability to reign, the law was ratified, and then the House of Representatives had to vote again if they considered that the inability to reign had ended,” they explained. Therefore, they emphasized that “he made the decision anyway and assumed all the consequences,” since he stopped reigning for 36 hours.
They remembered that “those days he suffered a lot, both [he and his wife] suffered a lot, because they were in a position where they didn’t know what was going to happen, and also because he knew that not signing the abortion law could bring even greater division to the country.”
He asked, they added, “that people support him by prayer in making a decision. But he was fully aware that he had made the decision with God and with his conscience, which was very impressive.”
They recalled with emotion how in those days, a woman who worked at the palace of Laeken and who had an appointment with a doctor to have an abortion “cancelled the appointment when she heard what the king had done.”
“When he heard what had happened, he said: ‘Just for this, everything I have been through has been worth it.’”
Defender of the dignity of women
The relatives lamented that there are people who think that, in making this decision, the king did not take into account women’s rights. “I think it is very important to establish the truth — the king had enormous respect for the dignity of women.”
“I know this from all the women he went to see in difficult situations, but also because he held meetings with women from different fields, writers, scientists, politicians, etc. He was very aware of the suffering of women in certain situations. The episode about abortion was a decision made with God and his conscience to defend life.”
As an example of his defense of women’s dignity, they cited an initiative he took to organize a summit aimed at promoting rural women.
“He asked the secretary-general of the United Nations to organize it and brought together almost all the women heads of state and government from around the world in Geneva.”
The relatives reiterated that he had “the mission of really helping women to be respected, to get out of poverty, to be able to climb the social ladder, to promote their work… He always defended women and their dignity.”
A life of holiness
The decision not to sign the abortion law was certainly an episode that marked the king’s life. However, they stressed: “It‘s not the only one that could be used to declare him a saint, because to take such a step, with all the consequences, means that you have to have led an incredibly deep spiritual life beforehand. It was his life of prayer, his spiritual maturity, and his love for God, which prepared him, without knowing it, to make such a decision. It was not something sudden.”
They particularly highlighted his life of prayer: “He would spend hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. We usually had Mass early in the morning and, if you arrived earlier, he would be sitting there in front of the Blessed Sacrament. And many times, during the night, he would wake up and simply go to the chapel to pray. And in Motril too, you would enter the chapel and he would be there. His whole life was a witness to the living Christ.”
“As he said, what we have to aspire to is to be saints. So he really wanted that and he tried to live that holiness throughout his whole life,” one of them added.
If he were to be recognized as a saint, they said, “we would like him to be remembered as the ‘shepherd king,’ for his simplicity and humility. And for him to be an example for all heads of government and heads of state, as Pope Francis said.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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