 While proposals to create a new diocese for Lille and its surrounds had been made in the past, they had not been successful.In 1852, however, the Lille deputy Charles Kolb-Bernard recommended the creation of a new diocse, which would cover the districts of Lille, Dunkirk, and Hazebrouck, in a public report entitled "Intérêts communaux de la ville de Lille".An anti-Republican Legitimist and a spokeperson for the protectionist upper bourgeoisie, Kolb-Bernard was dedicated to the moralisation of the working class at a time when social tensions were exacerbated by mass immigration from Belgium and the impoverishment of large parts of the population due to industrialisation; he saw the creation of a new bishopric as a means to "re-Christianise" a population largely denied the spiritual relief of religion.