nl, Katholieke Partij , logo = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Charles Woeste
Paul de Smet de Naeyer

Jules de Burlet Jules Philippe Marie de Burlet (10 April 1844 – 1 March 1897) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Born in Ixelles, de Burlet was educated as a lawyer. He practised law in Nivelles, where he made his home, and he served as mayor of the to ...

Gustave Sap Gustave Charles Sap (21 January 1886 – 19 March 1940) was a Belgian politician and minister for the Catholic Party. Sap was also professor at the Catholic University of Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). During his professional career, he was active in ...

, foundation = 1869 , dissolved = 1945 , predecessor = , successor = Christian Social Party , headquarters =

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, wing1_title = Trade Union wing , wing1 = Confederation of Christian Trade Unions , ideology =

Belgian nationalism Belgian nationalism, sometimes pejoratively referred to as Belgicism (; ), is a nationalist ideology. In its modern form it favours the reversal of federalism and the creation of a unitary state in Belgium. The ideology advocates reduced or no a ...

Christian democracy

Conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, position = Centre-right , religion = Roman Catholicism , international = , colours =

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, country = Belgium The Catholic Party (french: Parti catholique; nl, Katholieke Partij) was a Belgian political party established in 1869 as the Confessional Catholic Party ( nl, Confessionele Katholieke Partij).

History

In 1852, a ''Union Constitutionnelle et Conservatrice'' was founded in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, in Leuven (1854), and in Antwerp and

in 1858, which were active only during elections. On July 11, 1864, the Federation of Catholic Circles and Conservative Associations was created (french: Fédération des Cercles catholiques et des Associations conservatrices; nl, Verbond van Katholieke Kringen en der Conservatieve Verenigingen). The other group which contributed to the party were the ''Catholic Cercles'', of which the eldest had been founded in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

. The Malines Congresses in 1863, 1864, and 1867 brought together

Ultramontanes Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...

or ''Confessionals'' and the Liberal-Catholics or ''Constitutionals''. At the Congress of 1867, it was decided to create the ''League of Catholic Circles'', which was founded on October 22, 1868. The Catholic Party, under the leadership of Charles Woeste, gained an absolute majority in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1884 from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the wake of the schools dispute. The Catholic Party retained its absolute majority until 1918. In 1921, the party became the Catholic Union, and from 1936 the Catholic Bloc. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, on 18–19 August 1945 the party was succeeded by the PSC-CVP.

Notable members

* Auguste Beernaert,

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in 1909. *

* Paul de Smet de Naeyer * Jules Vandenpeereboom *

Jules de Trooz Jules Henri Ghislain Marie, Baron de Trooz (21 February 1857 – 31 December 1907) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. De Trooz was born in Leuven, and had studied philosophy before entering politics. He represented Leuven in the Belgian C ...

* Gustaaf Sap * Frans Schollaert * Charles de Broqueville *

Gérard Cooreman Gérard (Gerard) François Marie Cooreman (25 March 1852 – 2 December 1926) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Born in Ghent, Cooreman was trained in law, and practised as a lawyer, but was more active as a businessman and financier, an ...

* Henri Baels

Electoral history

Chamber of Deputies

* 1936 Belgian general election: 61 seats, 27.67% of votes * 1939 Belgian general election: 67 seats, 30.38% of votes

Sources

* * * Th. Luykx and M. Platel, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', 2 vol., Kluwer, 1985 * E. Witte, J. Craeybeckx en A. Meynen, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België'', Standaard, 1997 Defunct political parties in Belgium Christian democratic parties in Belgium Defunct Christian political parties Political parties established in 1869 1869 establishments in Belgium 1945 disestablishments in Belgium Political parties disestablished in 1945 {{Belgium-party-stub

History

Notable members

See also

Electoral history

Chamber of Deputies

Sources