nl, Katholieke Partij , logo = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name =

Charles Woeste Charles, Count Woeste (26 February 1837 – 5 April 1922), was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician of German descent. He was born in Brussels, the son of Edouard Woeste, who was of Prussian descent who became a naturalized Belgian on 15 January ...

Paul de Smet de Naeyer Paul Joseph, Count de Smet de Naeyer (13 May 1843 – 9 September 1913) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Born in Ghent, son of a cotton industrialist, he was himself also an industrialist and a banker. He was head of the Société Gén� ...

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 ...

Auguste Beernaert Auguste Marie François Beernaert (26 July 1829 – 6 October 1912) was the prime minister of Belgium from October 1884 to March 1894, and the 1909 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Life Born in Ostend in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1829, h ...

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 The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions ( nl, Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, or ACV; french: Confédération des syndicats chrétiens, CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in ...

, 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 Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

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 Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

, religion =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, 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 met ...

, 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 in ...

, in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

(1854), and in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

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 status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. The

Malines Congresses The Malines Congresses were a series of Catholic Congresses held in Mechelen (french: Malines), Belgium, with the purpose of bringing together Catholics with leading roles in all walks of life, on the model of the German ''Katholikentage''.M. Defo ...

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

, gained an absolute majority in the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

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 opposin ...

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

Notable members

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 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

in 1909. *

Jules Vandenpeereboom Jules (Julius) Henri Pierre François Vandenpeereboom (18 March 1843 – 6 March 1917) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Vandenpeereboom was born in Kortrijk and educated as a lawyer. He represented Kortrijk in the Belgian Chamber of Peo ...

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 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 ...

Frans Schollaert François (Frans) Victor Marie Ghislain Schollaert (19 August 1851 – 29 June 1917) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician. Born in Wilsele, Schollaert trained as a lawyer and practiced in Leuven. He served as head of the Flemish farme ...

Charles de Broqueville Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the prime minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. Before 1914 Charles de Broqueville was born into an old noble family with its roots in F ...

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 Henri Louis Baels (18 January 1878 – 14 June 1951), was a Belgian Catholic Party politician, and ship-owner from Ostend. Early life Baels was born on 18 January 1878 in Ostend, Belgium. He was the son of Julius Ludovicus Baels (1851–1896) an ...

Electoral history

Chamber of Deputies

1936 Belgian general election General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1936. The result was a victory for the Belgian Labour Party, which won 70 of the 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 39 of the 101 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 94.7%. Desp ...

: 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