Engelbert Sterckx was the Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium, from 1832 to 1867.
12 Facts About Engelbert Sterckx
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Engelbert Sterckx began his studies in Vilvoorde, after which he studied humanities at the college of Enghien.
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Engelbert Sterckx was vice-regent and professor of philosophy and moral theology at Mechelen from 1815 to 1821, when he was appointed pastor at Boechout.
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Not a profound thinker, Engelbert Sterckx was a clever negotiator with a natural inclination to conciliatory pragmatism.
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Engelbert Sterckx became Archbishop on 24 February 1832, but his consecration was initially delayed by rumors against him of liberalism.
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Archbishop Engelbert Sterckx took full advantage of the new freedoms to completely reorganize his Archdiocese, establishing schools, colleges, monasteries, charities and minor seminaries in Hoogstraten and Waver.
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The University of Mechelen was mainly the work of Engelbert Sterckx, and was a revival of the famous University of Leuven, which had been founded in 1425 and closed in 1797.
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Engelbert Sterckx wrote to Pope Gregory XVI on 14 November 1833 regarding the proposed establishment of a Catholic university for Belgium, and Gregory replied to him and the other Belgian bishops on 13 December 1833 in a letter entitled Maiori certo, granting his approval.
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Engelbert Sterckx did not participate in the conclave of 1846 at which Pope Pius IX was chosen.
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In 1842, Engelbert Sterckx issued a decree regarding plainsong and the following year established a commission to prepare a new edition of choral books.
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Engelbert Sterckx strongly opposed all interference, such as the law on cemeteries of 1862.
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Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx died on 4 December 1867, in Mechelen, where his remains rest in the crypt of the archbishops in St Rombout's Cathedral.