Many Belgians see in Baldwin I (1930-1993) the image of a saint. That is why the advertisement of Pope Francis to initiate the process of beatification of the late king has not caused too much surprise. Nor is advertisement surprising if we consider the unquestionable uniqueness of the character.

Baldwin's childhood was troubled. At the age of five he lost his mother, Queen Astrid. Just four years later the German invasion of Belgium took place. This event was to provoke a profound crisis, known as the "royal question". It came about as a result of the strong criticism of King Leopold III for his conduct during these years of occupation and war. He was criticized for his lack of fighting spirit, which resulted in a premature abdication. Also for his decision to stay in Belgium and not to have opted for exile in London, like other monarchs. But above all, his silences and his many ambiguities were denounced. The disaffection towards the crown was so widespread that the royal family had to reside in Switzerland. They could not return until 1950, after the referendum on the future of the monarchy. Support for the crown had been so meager that the king's return was followed by violent riots. Leopold calibrated well the status and abdicated in favor of his eldest son. At only 19 years of age, and with hardly any experience, Baldwin was at the head of a very convulsed and divided country.

From the beginning, the young king's goal consisted of building bridges and bringing positions closer together. To keep the country united, he personally took on the role of mediator between Flemish and French speakers. It was of great help to him financial aid to be fluent in both languages. A similar attitude was exhibited in relation to the Belgian colonial empire. He made every effort to accelerate the decolonization process. To this end, in December 1959, ignoring the advice of the government, he personally traveled to the former Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). However, neither in the first case nor in the second did he succeed in making things fully respond to his sincere desires for peace and harmony. What he did manage to do was to strengthen his public image. He achieved this through tenacity and sacrifice.

Baldwin rarely felt "off duty" (even during his free time). His honesty was proverbial, as was his ability to work. Not many ministers managed to live up to his standards. This undoubtedly earned him the respect of many of his former critics. Baldwin could have outbursts of temper when he perceived that he had not been well informed in some topic; this could lead to mistakes and unjust decisions.

Serving the Belgians had become his passion. But not at the cost of acting against his principles. That much was to become clear in April 1990, when he decided to abdicate the throne "for one day" rather than sign a law legalizing abortion. "Does freedom of conscience apply to everyone except the king?" asked Baldwin in a letter to parliament. The country's political class was dismayed. But the majority of his subjects showed their support for the monarch, whether they supported the law or not. In those delicate moments, Baldwin also had the invaluable support of Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, the Spanish aristocrat whom he had married in 1960. The royal couple was always very united by an intense Catholic devotion, as well as by their commitment to people with disabilities.

On July 31, 1993, King Baudouin died of a sudden heart attack. In the days that followed, thousands of Belgians flocked to Brussels to pay tribute to their beloved king. A few months earlier, Belgium had become a federal state. It was a formula that had always been encouraged by Baldwin himself to reduce territorial tensions. The death of the king became a song of hope. Surely, the Belgians had never felt so united as before the passage of the funeral procession of Baldwin.