Desire Mercier
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His Eminence Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Mercier |
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| Cardinal, Archbishop of Mechelen Primate of Belgium |
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| See | Mechelen |
| Installed | 7 February 1906 – 23 January 1926 |
| Predecessor | Pierre-Lambert Goosens |
| Successor | Jozef-Ernest van Roey |
| Other posts | Previously Professor |
| Orders | |
| Created Cardinal | 1907 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 November 1851 Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium |
| Died | 23 January 1926 (aged 74) Brussels, Belgium |
| Coat of arms |  |
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Styles of Désiré-Joseph Mercier |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Mechelen |
Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. He was known for his book, Les origines de la psychologie contemporaine (1897). His scholarship gained him recognition from the Pope and he was appointed as Archbishop of Mechelen, serving from 1906 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907.
Mercier is noted for his staunch resistance to the German occupation of 1914–1918 during the Great War.
After the invasion, he distributed a strong pastoral letter, Patriotism and Endurance, to be read in all his churches, urging the people to keep up their spirits. He served as a model of resistance.
Désiré Mercier was born at the château du Castegier in Braine-l'Alleud, as the fifth of the seven children of Paul-Léon Mercier and his wife Anne-Marie Barbe Croquet. He entered the minor seminary at Mechelen in 1861 to prepare for the church. He attended Mechelen's Grand Seminary from 1870 to 1874.
Mercier received the clerical tonsure in 1871, and temporarily served as dean of the seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Giacomo Cattani, the nuncio to Belgium, on 4 April 1874. Mercier continued with graduate studies, obtaining his licentiate in theology (1877) and doctorate in philosophy from the University of Louvain. He also took courses in psychology in Paris.
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