Statue of Priest Daens

Adolf Daens, better known as Father Daens, was a Belgian clergyman and politician. He was born on December 18, 1839, in Aalst in a family of small middle-class merchants. He attended school at the Jesuits in the Saint Joseph College. He became a teacher at the Jesuit colleges in Antwerp, Bergen, and Turnhout. In the meantime, he studied philosophy and theology at KU Leuven. In 1871, he was dismissed from the Jesuit order, after which he moved to Ghent to join the Major Seminary. In 1873, he then became a officially a priest in addition to being a teacher. In 1888, he decided to retreat to his brother Pieter in his hometown of Aalst. At that time, Aalst was a prosperous industrial city, although working conditions in the factories were not very good. Daens stood up for the workers and founded the Daensist movement. In 1893, the Christian People's Party emerged from this. This brought Daens into conflict with the Bishop of Ghent. In 1894, Daens was appointed as a candidate for the House of Representatives. Due to the newly introduced general multiple voting rights, Daens was elected. As he was politically supported by the liberals and socialists, he received a ban from the Bishop of Ghent to publicly lead a mass. Daens opposed this, but ultimately lost the battle and ended his political career in 1907. Daens also died that year on June 14 in his familiar Aalst. Today, he is honored with a statue in the Werfplein and his own square at the Saint Martin Church. A film and a musical have also been made about him.

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