Before the tomb of King Baudouin

After his meeting with the country’s bishops, priests, religious, and pastoral workers, Pope Francis visited the royal crypt beneath the Basilica of Our Lady of Laeken with the King and Queen of Belgium and paused to pray before the tomb of King Baudouin, who reigned from 1951 until his death in 1993.

Speaking to King Philippe and those present, the Pope praised the late King’s courage for choosing to temporarily “leave his position as King to avoid signing a murderous law”, which legalized abortion in 1990.

Pope Francis urged Belgians to look to him at a time when criminal laws are being enacted, and expressed his hopes that King Baudouin’s cause for beatification will advance, according to the Holy See Press Office.