Désiré-Joseph Mercier, Belgian cardinal and theologian (d. 1926)
Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. He was known for his book, Les origines de la psychologie contemporaine (1897). His scholarship gained him recognition from the Pope and he was appointed as Archbishop of Mechelen, serving from 1906 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907.
Mercier is noted for his staunch resistance to the German occupation of 1914–1918 during the Great War.
After the invasion, he distributed a strong pastoral letter, Patriotism and Endurance, to be read in all his churches, urging the people to keep up their spirits. He served as a model of resistance.
1851Nov, 21
Désiré-Joseph Mercier
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Events on 1851
- 12Feb
Australian gold rushes
Edward Hargraves announces he has found gold in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, starting the Australian gold rushes. - 11Mar
Giuseppe Verdi
The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice. - 21May
Colombia
Slavery is abolished in Colombia, South America. - 5Jun
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper. - 24Oct
Umbriel (moon)
William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel, and Ariel, orbiting Uranus.