1. Joseph Cardijn was not wrong in that assessment since old schoolmates working in the mines and mills believed the Church had abandoned them, which prompted Cardijn to found a social movement dedicated to this task despite the opposition that it faced.
Joseph Cardijn's movement received vocal praise and encouragement from Pope Pius XI.
Joseph Cardijn demonstrated great zeal even after he had been imprisoned during World War II, which served to empower his positions on social change and to oppose rising inequalities.
Joseph Cardijn was an extensive traveller and was a recipient of several recognitions for his work in social activism.
Joseph Cardijn served as a critical contributor to the Second Vatican Council, working closely with Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.
Joseph Cardijn's siblings were: Jeanne, Victor, and Charles.
Joseph Cardijn lived with his grandparents in Halle until his parents quit their jobs as caretakers and his father started a business as a coal merchant while his mother opened a cafe.
Joseph Cardijn's parents had wanted him to have a good job since it would add to their income and ensure the Cardijns were better off.
Joseph Cardijn studied in Halle before going in September 1903 to Mechelen for his education; his father died a few months prior to this.
Joseph Cardijn had decided to spend his life evangelizing and bringing the faith back to the working class, who he felt had been neglected.
Joseph Cardijn became a teacher in Wavre in 1907 and travelled abroad during vacation periods, meeting people such as Baden Powell and Ben Tillett.
Joseph Cardijn left Laeken in 1919 and dedicated himself to social work from then on.
Joseph Cardijn was arrested again in 1918 on an espionage charge and sentenced to a decade of hard labor, but was released following the November 1918 armistice that ended the war.
In 1924 Joseph Cardijn received permission from Cardinal Mercier to meet the pope, with Clemente Micara helping to facilitate the March 1925 meeting.
Joseph Cardijn refused to leave unless those captured and jailed alongside him were released with him.
Joseph Cardijn received his episcopal consecration and a week later Paul VI made him Cardinal-Deacon of San Michele Arcangelo a Pietralata.
Joseph Cardijn had first come into contact with Paul VI when the latter was Father Montini serving in the Secretariat of State, and the two started corresponding.
Joseph Cardijn likewise expressed his nervousness at the election of John XXIII, since he did not know him and did not know how the new pope would respond to his movement.
In 1964, the pope asked Joseph Cardijn to submit his thoughts on ecumenism and dialogue for Ecclesiam Suam.
Joseph Cardijn gave the pope a ten-page reflection, as well as 40 additional pages of citations he thought would help in the document's drafting.
Joseph Cardijn succeeded in ensuring that Apostolicam Actuositatem was named as the "Decree on the Lay Apostolate", rather than the "Decree on the Laity", for he felt the latter title did not address the faithful to an adequate degree.
Joseph Cardijn drafted more than 25 formal detailed notes for the commission advocating his vision for the faithful and these ideas later became incorporated into both Apostolicam Actuositatem and Lumen Gentium.
Joseph Cardijn made his first trip to the Americas in June 1946.
In 1953, during his first visit to Asia, Joseph Cardijn visited India and Sri Lanka, visiting New Delhi and Colombo.
Joseph Cardijn left Belgium on 20 November 1952 and returned on 4 March 1953, having gone first to Beirut and Baghdad, before heading to Karachi.
Joseph Cardijn died due to renal complications on 24 July 1967; his remains were interred in the Notre-Dame parish church in Laeken.
Joseph Cardijn's diagnosis was not clear at first as his temperature increased, which worried those around him.
Joseph Cardijn was taken to hospital where it was discovered he had a severe renal infection.
Joseph Cardijn knew his time was short and dated his final letter to Paul VI on 25 June 1967.
Joseph Cardijn's model influenced a number of movements around the world, such as the Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Students, Christian Family Movement, the Student Catholic Action, the Paulian Association and Palms Australia.
In Noarlunga Downs, Australia, the Joseph Cardijn College has been named in his honour.