A celebration in memory of Joseph Cardijn in Namur
A mass was celebrated in memory of Cardinal Cardijn in the Saint-Nicholas church in Namur, Belgium, on May 8, 2022, on the initiative of former members of Catholic action movements who used the See-Judge-Act method created by the founder of the Young Christian Workers, a movement whose 100th anniversary will be celebrated in 2025 and which has branches in some fifty countries around the world and an international secretariat in Schaerbeek, Belgium.
At the request of Mgr Warin, Bishop of Namur, the mass was presided over by Fr Joseph Bayet, former JOC-F chaplain and former vicar general in Namur, assisted by Fr Jacques Hanon, IYCW collaborator, and Fr Pierre Dejardin, the parish priest.
During the service, the Philippine Leizyl Salem, treasurer of the IYCW, who was accompanied by the Brazilian Arlindo De Oliveira, in charge of the International Cardijn Association (ICA), recalled that Joseph Cardijn's parents had accepted that their eldest son study to become a priest instead of going to work in a factory, because he wanted to help young workers to find answers to their difficult living conditions, using the famous See-Judge-Act method that he proposed later on.
Quoting testimonies from members of different branches of the IYCW, the dynamic spokesperson showed how Cardijn's legacy is still relevant today and how important it is for those young people to be part of the movement which "since its foundation, has always been committed to the development and transformation of young people's lives and work."