LUXEMBOURG. —
I. GEOGRAPHY
A small independent state of 2,586 sq. km., enclosed by the frontiers of France, Belgium, and Germany.The territory consists of two distinct natural regions: the southern part (Gutland), a continuation of the plains of Lorraine, traversed by the valleys of the Moselle and several of its tributaries (alt. 130–300 m.); the northern part (Eisleck), formed by the eastern extremity of the Ardennes, with wooded hills and valleys deeply cut by various watercourses (alt. 300–560 m.).
The climate is intermediate between maritime and continental, though closer to the former, with abundant rainfall and pronounced temperature variations between north and south. The population, numbering 291,000 (1950; density 114 per sq. km.), has remained almost stationary for twenty years and includes about 20,000 foreigners, almost exclusively industrial and agricultural workers. Agriculture and livestock raising, though conducted with advanced methods, do not meet domestic consumption. Cultivated land accounts for 43.8% of the surface area, viticulture 0.45%, meadows 17.7%, and forests 34%. The foundation of Luxembourg’s economy is industry: metallurgy, which processes local ore, alone employs two-thirds of the population and places the small state in fourth place among European producers (2.6 million tons of pig iron and 2.4 million tons of steel in 1948). The language spoken in Luxembourg is the Luxembourgish dialect. Owing to the country’s geographical position, French and German are both recognized as official languages and are taught to all children from primary school onward. Luxembourg is a constitutional grand duchy with an elective government based on universal suffrage. Its capital, Luxembourg City, has 62,000 inhabitants.
II. HISTORY
A crossroads and meeting place for the peoples of Gaul, later of France, and those of Germany, Luxembourg entered recorded history with the victory of Labienus over the Treveri (54 BC), which sealed its incorporation into Roman civilization. Subject to the Franks in AD 459, it began to take on the character of an independent political and territorial entity in 963, when Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes, gathered around him the castle of Luxembourg and the territories marked by the valleys of the Moselle and Alzette, extending northward as far as the Salm. After the usual territorial divisions inherent in the feudal system, the line of the Ardennes, which became extinct in 1136, was succeeded by the collateral branch of the Counts of Namur (1136–1247), a period marked by the growth of cities (granted charters by Countess Ermesinde [1196–1247]) and the expansion of Luxembourg both northward and especially southward (Thionville) and westward, with the inclusion of the margraviate of Arlon. From this point onward, as a result of these territorial changes, the ethnic and cultural character of Luxembourg itself was altered, for alongside the hitherto dominant German element, the Walloon element from the western counties began to assert itself.The Counts of Namur were succeeded by the House of Limburg (1247–1443), from which emerged Henry VII, elected Emperor in 1308. He traveled to Italy in 1310, where he was hailed by Dante as the restorer of justice, peace, and liberty. Crowned at the Lateran in 1312, he died the following year on his return journey from Rome (at Buonconvento, Siena). He ceded the county to his son John the Blind, King of Bohemia; John’s son, the Emperor Charles IV of Bohemia, elevated it to a duchy (1354), entrusting it to his brother Wenceslaus I, who continued to expand the duchy westward, incorporating the county of Chiny along the Semois valley. This was the period of Luxembourg’s greatest prosperity, but with the death of Wenceslaus II (1383), a time of conflict began among various claimants (to whom the duchy had been pledged in various ways), which ended when Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, succeeded in having himself recognized as sovereign in 1443. Luxembourg thus became part of the Netherlands, though retaining certain privileges. Over time, it came under the rule of the Dukes of Burgundy (1443–82), the Habsburgs (1482–1555), the Spanish Habsburgs (1555–1714) — except for the period 1684–97, when it fell under French domination — Austria (1714–95), and France (from 1795 to 1815).
By the Treaties of Vienna in 1815, Luxembourg, diminished in favor of Prussia by the loss of several eastern districts, was established as a grand duchy and given to William I, King of the Netherlands, to be held in perpetuity and in personal title by him and his successors. The autonomy and political personality of Luxembourg were thus recognized, though it was required to be part of the German Confederation. A Prussian garrison was stationed in the fortress of Luxembourg. The Belgian Revolution of 1830, in which the whole of Luxembourg (except the capital) participated as if it were a province of the Netherlands, resulted for the grand duchy in a new territorial division, the last of many it had undergone over the centuries. The Treaties of 19 April 1839, in ratifying Belgium’s separation from the Netherlands, assigned to Belgium the substantial western, Walloon portion of the former grand duchy — namely, the five districts of Arlon, Bastogne, Marche, Neufchâteau, and Virton — while the eastern part, with only three districts, predominantly German-speaking, continued in personal union with the Netherlands and as part of the German Confederation, with which it concluded a customs union agreement in 1842.
After an initial constitution granted in 1841 by King-Grand Duke William II, a more liberal one was adopted in 1848. With the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866, Luxembourg was declared independent and neutral at the London Conference of 1867, following a period in which tensions had risen — almost as a prelude to the crisis of 1870 — between Napoleon III’s France, which had proposed to William III that he cede Luxembourg, and Prussia, which opposed such a move.
In 1890, with the extinction of the male line of the House of Orange-Nassau, the personal union with the Netherlands came to an end, and Grand Duke Adolph of Nassau ascended the throne; his descendants still occupy the grand ducal throne today.
His son, William IV, married Duchess Marie Anne of Braganza, and thereafter the Luxembourg dynasty became Catholic, to the satisfaction of a population that was entirely Catholic. As no male heir was born of this marriage, the family statute was amended, and in 1912 the throne passed to the eldest daughter, Marie-Adélaïde.
On 19 August 1914, Germany violated Luxembourg’s neutrality by invading and occupying the country for the duration of the war (1914–18), during which, by the terms of the 1867 treaty, Luxembourg was unable to defend itself. After the war, having regained its independence, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, faced with internal difficulties, voluntarily abdicated in favor of her sister Charlotte on 9 January 1919. Faced with some sentiment for union with Belgium, Charlotte agreed to submit the question of the political system to a plebiscite (28 September 1919), in which 80% of voters expressed support for Grand Duchess Charlotte and the reigning dynasty. In November 1919, Charlotte married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (they had six children; the hereditary grand duke, Prince Jean, was born in 1921).
In the Second World War, on 10 May 1940, Luxembourg was again invaded by the Germans, while the Grand Duchess and her government took their stand beside the Allies to defend the interests of the country. Soon after the occupation a civil government (Gauleiter) was established, which, in the face of open popular opposition, distinguished itself by oppressive measures against the population (conscription of young men for the German army, forced labour, political deportations [15% of the population], imprisonment in concentration camps, capital sentences) and against the Church (suppression of convents, withdrawal of clerical stipends, imprisonment and expulsion of priests and religious).
After the liberation (10 September 1944), the neutrality of Luxembourg, twice violated, was declared to have lapsed. At present Luxembourg, which was among the founder members of the United Nations, maintains an army, is a member of the Western Union and is one of the countries adhering to the North Atlantic Pact.
III. DIOCESE
From the point of view of religious administration, Luxembourg was divided mainly between the dioceses of Trier and Liège, while some smaller territories belonged to three other dioceses. Philip II, King of Spain, was the first to open negotiations in 1572 for the creation of a diocese of Luxembourg, which failed owing to the opposition aroused by two of the interested Orders. During the second French occupation, after the Concordat of Napoleon (1801), Luxembourg was united to the diocese of Metz and, from 1823, attached to that of Namur. A vicariate apostolic was established by a brief of Gregory XVI in 1840 and was raised to the status of a diocese by a motu proprio of Pius IX in 1870, recognized by the government in 1873. Since 1908 it has been immediately subject to the Holy See. It comprises the territory of the Grand Duchy. It has a Chapter with 8 non-resident canons; a major seminary of philosophy and theology; 14 deaneries, 267 parishes, 112 vicariates, 363 churches, 495 priests; of the 291,000 inhabitants, 289,500 are Catholics (1950).Especially famous is the Dancing Procession at Echternach, where the tomb of St Willibrord, apostle of the Netherlands (d. 739), is to be found, and the national festivals in honour of Our Lady under the title Consolatrix afflictorum, patroness of the country and of the city. From the third to the fifth Sunday after Easter pilgrimages, very numerous, are made by all the parishes and neighbouring provinces.
In the diocese there are Benedictines, Franciscans, Jesuits, Redemptorists, White Fathers, Priests of the Sacred Heart, Brothers of Mercy of St Mary Help of Christians, Brothers of the Christian Schools, Canonesses and Sisters of St Augustine, Benedictine nuns, Dominicans, Carmelites, Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus, of the Poor Clares of Bergamo, Hospitaller Sisters of St Elizabeth, of the Mercy of the Third Order of St Francis, of St Zita, of Christian Doctrine, of the Divine Saviour, of Charity.
Catholic journalism, Catholic Action and missionary works are very flourishing. In the missions Luxembourg occupies an honourable place.
IV. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH
There is no concordat between the Holy See and Luxembourg. The position of the Church is substantially regulated by the Concordat of Napoleon I of 1801, excluding however the so-called “Organic Articles”. It is governed by the Constitution of 1868 and by a law of 1873, the latter laying down that the Bishop of Luxembourg must be a Luxembourger by nationality and take an oath; and that, moreover, his appointment must receive, in order to have civil effects, including financial support, the approval of the sovereign.Article 26 of the Constitution provides that the establishment in Luxembourg territory of a religious corporation must be authorized by law. In fact many religious congregations have settled there without authorization and since no difficulties have ever arisen, it may be said that the constant practice of almost a century has interpreted Article 26 in the sense that legal authorization is necessary only to obtain civil juridical personality, which is then granted, in part, by assimilating religious congregations to institutes of public charity, i.e. to private institutions which perform a service of general interest.
In addition to civil marriage, guaranteed by the Constitution, the Civil Code has retained the institution of divorce, established by decree of 1791, though imposing considerable limitations upon II.
The Constitution does not lay down the principle of freedom of teaching, and the provisions in it on this subject (Art. 23) are interpreted and applied by the government in the sense of claiming for itself a monopoly of education, with rare exceptions of little importance. Religious instruction however is compulsory in state schools.
The Holy See is represented in Luxembourg by an Apostolic Internuncio, whose mission is exercised by the Apostolic Nuncio in Belgium. — See pl. CXVIII. Ippolito Rotoli.