Saint Catherine

Murals

Murals were painted on the walls of the southern transept of the church around 1430. They were rediscovered in 1945 and were protected in 1985. Two fragments are preserved on the eastern side: a scene of the Man of Sorrows and the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary. Saint George is fighting a dragon on the southern side. The founders of the church are depicted under this scene. On the right are Saint Eligius and Saint James the Greater. Underneath the saints stand another founders pair. The western wall is decorated with a Pieta and another founder and benefactor.

Panels

Two panels depicting scenes from the life of Saint Cornelius and Saint Eloi (second half of the 16th century) The right panel is devoted to the transfer of the apostles’ bodies of Peter and Paul from the catacombs of Rome to their new graves. This happened, according to the painting and according to legend, in the presence of Cornelius. This man, who came from a noble Roman family, was elected bishop in Rome in 251 and therefore also pope. Unlike most of his images he does not wear a tiara but a mitre. The left panel depicts the charity of Saint Eligius (Eloi) of Noyon. Eligius (circa 588-660), who came from the area of Limoges, was originally a hoof smith and gold smith. The top panel depicts (according to the inscription) Saint Eligius, as a goldsmith, who gives two gold plated saddles to the French king Clotaire II. He had made them with an amount of gold that was just enough for one saddle.

Paintings on canvas

Martyrdom of Catherine of Alexandria: An anonymous artist made this painting on canvas in the second half of the 17th century. According to the “Legenda Aurea” Catherine was a daughter of the king Costus of Alexandria (Egypt) and she was born around the end of the third century. She was beautiful, rich and gifted. She was also very proud and rejected most men who courted her. An old hermit told her one-day that she would marry Jesus. This affected her deeply and she decided to be baptised. Her disputes with scholars and rulers, whom she embarrassed, made her known. Roman Emperor Maxentius condemned her to death by breaking on the wheel. However, the wheel broke when she touched it. According to another story, the lightning destroyed the wheel as soon as she was tied up. In the end, the Emperor ordered to behead her in 306. Painting Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”): This painting on canvas from the mid-18th century is attributed to François Joseph Huygens. In his gospel, John says: “Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ‘Here he is, man,’ said Pilate. When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!'” Despite its title, the painting depicts another scene: After the betrayal of Judas, a group of soldiers and servants of the high priests of the Pharisees arrested Jesus in the olive garden. On the painting they carry him away for questioning in handcuffs.

The choir

The large Gothic choir with a frieze on the arch and the ‘piscina’ (cleansing basin) is richly decorated with sculptures. The liturgical piscine has a double outlet: one to the outside for the regular water and one to the sacred ground of the cemetery for the water that is used to clean the Eucharistic chalices.

Adoration of the Shepherds

Painting on panel (in choir) Adoration of the shepherds: An anonymous artist made this panel around the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century. The adoration of the baby Jesus by the shepherds is depicted with a palatial building in the background. An angel that addressed the shepherds floats on the right of the colonnade. It said: “Do not be afraid, for I have good news for you, a great joy for all the people. Today your Savior was born in the city of David. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in fabrics in a manger” (Gospel according to Luke 2:10-12)

History

The silhouette and the architecture of the church illustrate its construction history. The Romanesque Saint Catharine’s church was originally the castle chapel of the Duke of Brabant Henry I. He donated the chapel in 1228 to the abbey of Saint-Jacques-on-the-Oudenburg in Brussels. The monks constructed the current Gothic choir in 1250. The church was restored at the end of the last century after it became protected heritage in 1938. The corroded stone exterior was renewed. The choir, whose sidewalls were pushed out by the pressure of the stone vaults, was stabilised.

Sainte-Catherine / Dames de choeur - campagne 2021

Le vitrail de sainte Catherine martyre avec l’épée et la roue de la torture.