Saint-Pierre
Kardinaal Mercierplein
1090 Jette
Church | 1880 | Neogothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 15.00 - 17.00
Tue -
Wed 15.00 - 17.00
Thu -
Fri 15.00 - 17.00
Sat -
Sun -
11 December - 06 January
Mon 15.30 - 17.30
Tue 15.30 - 17.30
Wed 15.30 - 17.30
Thu 15.30 - 17.30
Fri 15.30 - 17.30
Sat 15.30 - 17.30
Sun 15.30 - 17.30
01 April - 21 April
Mon 15.30 - 17.30
Tue -
Wed -
Thu 15.30 - 17.30
Fri 15.30 - 17.30
Sat 15.30 - 17.30
Sun 15.30 - 17.30
26 August - 30 August
Mon 15.00 - 18.00
Tue -
Wed -
Thu 15.00 - 18.00
Fri 15.00 - 18.00
Sat 15.00 - 18.00
Sun 15.00 - 18.00
Religious offices
FR : Sunday 11.30 am
Description
The neo-gothic church was built in 1878-1880 and designed by the architect Charles Demaeght.
The church interior stems from an older period. The stone font dates from 1597 and the two confessionals are early 18th century.
In 1896 the brothers Adrien and Salomon Van Bever (Laken) were asked to build an organ for the new church which they made in the then-favoured romantic style. Each Spring an organ festival is organised. The organ is currently being restored by Jean-Pierre Draps from Kortenberg.
For the jubilee celebrations of the Saint Peter congregation, Robert Van den Haute, Jean-Paul Denis and Guy Paulus published a book: '900 years of christian presence in Jette, 1095-1995'. They especially draw attention to the organ and on following interior church elements:
The tomb of the family de Villegas in the left aisle is in black marble with the coat of arms in white marble. This noble family was the ruler over the county of Saint-Peter, Jette.
The wood carvings are worth a closer look, such as the confessionals with medaillions of St. Hieronymus (left side), St. Gregory the Great (on the right) and St. Peter (above the left altar, with a cockerel on the left).
The procession banners belong to fraternities, lay organisations devoted to spiritual goals. These fraternities existed within the congregation from the 18th to the start of the 20th century.
The main show piece in the church is the statue of the Holy Mary and child in the front on the right, standing at 1.90 meters high.
The font is probably the oldest work of art in the church (1597).
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Remarkable elements
Mausoleum
The Villegas family mausoleum, placed in the left aisle, was first erected in Brussels at the Annonciade Sisters’ chapel. After its demolition in 1784, it moved to Jette’s former church and was preserved in the neo-Gothic building. The black marble tomb, topped with the white marble coat of arms of the noble Villegas branch, commemorates Gaspar de Villegas (†1785) and his wife Isabella Vanderlaen (†1783).
Organ
In 1896, the church council commissioned the brothers Adrien and Salomon Van Bever to build an organ for the new neo-Gothic St. Peter's Church in Jette. Since 1880 they ran their own company in Laken. The brothers had a great influence on organ building from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The organ, which was installed in St. Peter's Church in 1898, is one of the most beautiful creations in a romantic style. The organ case is executed in neo-Gothic style.
Confessional
Confessionals from the 18th century, crafted in oak, come from Dielegem’s old or abbey church (closed 1796). Between them, medallions depict Fathers of the Church, made by an unknown 17th century master. The left medallion shows Saint Jerome, who in the 4th–5th centuries translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), Rome’s official text. He is framed by vine shoots and grapes, symbols of fertility.
The processional banners
Next to St. Peter’s medallion is a banner, with two others flanking the choir. They belonged to parish brotherhoods active from the 18th to early 20th century, lay groups serving divine purposes, approved by the Church, often dedicated to saints, fostering charity and mutual aid. Carried in processions, they came from the convent chapel of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart. Banners: Blessed Sacrament (1751), St. Francis Xavier (1865), Holy Family (early 20th c.).
Mary, Queen of Heaven
The centrepiece of the church is the statue of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, at the front right of the church. The statue of Mary, 1.90 m high, is that of a woman with the moon under her feet, as described in the book of Revelation of John (12:1-7). As Queen of Heaven, she wears a crown on her head. The statue was restored from 1959 to 1962 by IRPA.
The sculpture bears an AV monogram that refers to the manufacturer, the Malinois sculptor Abraham Van Avont (17th century).
Baptismal font
The baptismal font, oldest artwork in the church, dates from 1597; its brass lid from 1778. It stands in the right transept, set in a hollow. Believers, reminded of baptism, purify themselves by making the sign of the cross with holy water. Barrels at the main entrance, on bluestone bases matching the columns, serve this ritual. At the side entrance, one is built into the wall, marked with IHS: Jesus our savior.
