Pope Francis prays at the tomb of Baldwin, the king who refused to sign the abortion law

The visit to the tomb of King Baudouin, who died in 1993, is not only an opportunity for Pope Francis to venerate a deeply Catholic king, whose cause for beatification was opened in 1995.

It is also an occasion to reaffirm their rejection of abortion and, as reported by the Holy See Press Office, to urge “Belgians to look at it at this time when criminal laws are being promulgated, wishing that their cause for beatification advances.”

The visit to the tomb of the kings occurred after the meeting with religious and faithful in the Koekelberg Basilica. Before returning to the nunciature, where he later greeted two refugee families, Pope Francis stopped at the basilica’s royal crypt, dedicated to Our Lady of Laeken. There are the tombs of many members of the Royal House of Belgium.

According to the Press Room of the Holy See, “welcomed by the King and Queen, the Pope stopped in front of the tomb of King Baudouin in silent prayer. Later, in front of the King and those present, he praised his bravery when he decided ‘to leave his position as king so as not to sign a murderous law.'”

Thus, Pope Francis presents Baudouin as an example for Belgians, who live in a secularized context, with one of the most advanced euthanasia laws in the world and where abortion is legal until the 12th week of gestation, although it is being debated. whether to extend the limit to 18 months.

The law on abortion was legalized in Belgium in 1990, and, in order not to sign it, Baldwin temporarily abdicated, or rather, suspended himself from his duties as king of Belgium from April 3 to 5 of that year. When he died in 1993, in Motril, Spain, he was 63 years old and had reigned uninterruptedly for 42 years, except for those three days.

This is what Pope Francis was referring to. However, there is a more hidden story, which was revealed by the trade unionist Giovanni Santachiara and later confirmed by the priest Mario Pigini to Future in 2019: the king of Belgium, together with his very devoted wife Fabiola, who accompanied him for 11 years, had been in Loreto in the months prior to the law, and asked the Virgin for the courage to fight against the law that was then in force. discussion.

Santachiara knew the story because the one who welcomed the kings was Father Stanislao Santachiara of Sanseverino, his uncle and then rector of the sanctuary.

Baudouin went to Loreto in the midst of a crisis of faith caused by the obligation to promulgate the law that decriminalized abortion. For this reason, he suspended himself from his royal powers and the law was approved, with the endorsement of Christian Democrat Prime Minister Wilfried Martens.

After three days, thanks to a constitutional device adopted by Parliament, Baldwin, loved by the people, returned to the throne. However, it was a difficult decision.

Baudouin and Fabiola did not have children, and in the midst of this crisis they decided to make a pilgrimage to Loreto, on the occasion of their thirtieth wedding anniversary, to renew their marriage promises within the walls of the Holy House.

They made the trip by car, without escort, from the Laeken residence to Loreto, 1,400 kilometers traveled at night, and arrived at dawn, stopping in front of the portico.

There, followed by the driver who was wearing their wedding clothes, they knelt before the House of Mary and remained three hours praying before the Virgin. Then they had lunch in the friars’ dining room, and the rector of the sanctuary talked a lot with the sovereigns.

It is reported that the king told Fr. Stanislaus, with whom he spoke in English, a language that the friar mastered perfectly having been ordained in London: “I would have liked to be a father and I could not be one, and now I should sign a law that interrupts a life that is just beginning. Furthermore, I am the guide of my country and I should point out precisely this horizon, promulgating the abortion law. I don’t think I will. In the hands of María, my wife Fabiola and I place our destinies today, asking for courage and strength to face this great test.”

The visit remained secret for almost 30 years; Not even Archbishop Pasquale Macchi, pontifical delegate of the Sanctuary of Loreto and former secretary of Paul VI, was informed.

“Baldouin was the great guardian of the rights of human conscience,” said John Saint Paul II in the general audience of June 7, 1995.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Press.