This article responds to a question put forward approximately a decade ago by the history of education research group at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven: Did the child-centred ideas of New Education, as promoted by Ovide Decroly, influence the education policy in the former Belgian colony of Congo? Naturally, ideas were circulating that could have been linked with indigenism, taking into account African traditions and local oral traditions. Some hold that in everyday educational practice, as much in Belgium as in the Belgian Congo, the paternalistic perspective remained uninterrupted. Offering a more nuanced picture, this article is based on the biography of Gustaaf Hulstaert, a noted missionary educator, and also analyzes his textbooks and manuals.