Adolf Daens

Augustin Adolphe "Adolf" Daens[1] (18 December 1839 – 14 June 1907) was a Flemish priest and politician who advocated for labor rights in Belgium.

He created the "Daensist movement" from which originated in 1893 the Christene Volkspartij inspired by Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum novarum.

He contributed much to the growing social awareness among Catholics in Belgium, and is a major figure of the Flemish movement as well as in the history of Belgian trade unions.

In 2005, he ended fifth place in the Flemish version of the election of De Grootste Belg ("The Greatest Belgian").

A dramatised musical based on the Coninx film, and starring Lucas Van Den Eynde, Jo De Meyere, Jelle Cleymans and Free Souffriau, ran in Antwerp from October 2008 to February 2009 to much critical acclaim.

Monsignor André-Joseph Léonard, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, presided over the annual Mass in commemoration of this great citizen.

Statue of Priest Daens in Haaltert in East Flanders.