Saint Julie
Rue Julie Billiart 17
5000 Namur
Church | 1951 | Modern | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 9.00 - 16.00
Tue 9.00 - 16.00
Wed 9.00 - 16.00
Thu 9.00 - 16.00
Fri 9.00 - 16.00
Sat -
Sun -
We, holidays and groups on reservation :
+32 81 25 43 07 - heritagecentre@sndden.org
Description
The church of Saint Julie is located in the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady in Namur. This church was destroyed during the bombardments of 1940 and 1944. It was rebuilt in a modernised Romanesque style. It receives the visit of those who seek a moment of prayer and rest before the shrine of Saint Julie Billiart, founder of the Sisters of Our Lady in Namur.
Located in the church, the Heritage Centre of this sister congregation also offers a space for reflection and conversation about the life and spirituality of Julie.
This centre preserves the history of the sister congregation, a teaching monastic community, which has fortresses on all continents. Her founder, Saint Julie Billiart, dedicated her life to education by establishing free schools for young girls who were less fortunate.
This exhibition was conceived in a very modern way to arouse the emotion and interest of the visitors: videos, photos, memories of the beginning and the expansion all over the world of the Congregation, testimonies.
Young and old will be happy to discover this saint from our regions: a woman with a strong character who, just after the French Revolution, worked to create a better world.
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Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Shrine of Saint Julie
This Gothic shrine of Saint Julie Billiart was crafted by M. Dehin’s workshops in Liège for her beatification on 13 May 1906. Made of copper gilded with fine gold and silver plated reliefs, it shows scenes from her life. The base states that her body, elevated by Pope Pius X in May 1906, was placed here by Bishop Thomas Louis Heylen on 9 April of the same year.
Statue of Saint Julie
This fine statue in white Carrara marble was created by the Italian sculptor Tripisciano for the beatification of Julie Billiart. It was placed in 1907 in the chapel in the garden of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Namur, where Julie Billiart was buried. In 2012, when the Sisters' heritage centre was created, the statue was moved to the convent church.
Oak altar
This neo Gothic oak altar likely came from the workshop of Liège sculptor François de Tombay; only the Virgin is signed “Fçois De Tombay, sculpteur 1854.” It holds relics of Saints Amand and Clément, with oak statuettes of major founders of orders. First placed in the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur’s garden chapel, it received Julie’s shrine after her 1906 beatification and was moved to Saint Julie’s church in 2012.
Vault
The convent church of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Namur, destroyed in the 1940 and 1944 bombings, was rebuilt after architect Rossomme designed plans for a new building on the original site. Contractor Henry of the Rhodius-Deville firm began work in February 1950. The church, conceived in a modernised Romanesque style with semicircular vaults, was completed and consecrated on 2 August 1951.
Heritage Centre
The Heritage Centre was set up in 2012 in the nave of Saint Julie's Church. It preserves the history of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Namur through writings, symbols, photos and images from its foundation to the present day. Four themes are developed: the history of Saint Julie and Françoise Blin de Bourdon, founders of the congregation; the expansion of the congregation, the mission and ministries of the Sisters and the spirituality of Saint Julie.
Portrait of Saint Julie Billiart
"In 1813, Mother Julie, yielding to the entreaties of the co-foundress, allowed an artist, Monsieur Jacquin, to fix her features on canvas. Namur and a few houses (the two foundations in Ghent and Gembloux) had originals, copies were reproduced and distributed to all the houses".
The original from Ghent is on display in the church, as the one from Namur burnt down during the bombings of the 2nd World War.
