Saint-Landelin
Place Jules Bacq et du 11 Novembre
59269 Quérénaing
Church | XII-XVI-XVII | Romanesque, Gothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 10.00 - 17.00
Tue 10.00 - 17.00
Wed 10.00 - 17.00
Thu 10.00 - 17.00
Fri 10.00 - 17.00
Sat 10.00 - 17.00
Sun 10.00 - 17.00
Religious offices
Description
In 1236, the first chapel was built by Nicolas Roussiau, knight and lord of Quérénaing. It became a parish church and took on its present form during the 16th century. All that remains of this chapel is the Romanesque choir. It houses a stained-glass window depicting the massacre of 25 August 1914, when houses were burnt down and the inhabitants massacred, represented by stars.
Over the centuries, the building has suffered a great deal of damage. From a hurricane in 1876 - which prevented it from being listed as a Historic Monument - to the explosion of a German lorry loaded with munitions during the Second World War - which destroyed all the stained glass windows.
The current Gothic nave is vaulted in the shape of a ship's hull and supported by arched beams decorated with sculpted figures.
A visit to the church in Quérénaing is a chance to discover the local history, and shows the determination of the local people to preserve and enhance this shared heritage.
Did you know? The church is dedicated to Saint Landelin, a former brigand who became a founding abbot. In the middle of the 7th century, Landelin went from leading a band of brigands to becoming a monk. Welcomed by Saint Aubert, then Bishop of Cambrai, he took control of his life and devoted the rest of his life to prayer and founding monasteries: Lobbes and Aulne in Belgium, Wallers-en-Fagne and Crespin, where he died in 686.
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Photos
Remarkable elements
The baptismal font
This baptistery is made from a single piece of cut sandstone. The octagonal basin, inscribed with the date 1569, rests on a 6-sided column and an 8-sided foot. This ensemble has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1986.
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Paradise Gate
Until 1903, the church was surrounded by a cemetery. This door, now closed, allowed the dead to pass from the church to their final resting place. Tradition dictates that this moment is accompanied by the singing of the funeral service, which begins with ‘In Paradisium’, hence the name ‘Gate of Paradise’.
Traces of this doorway are still visible from the outside, in the form of a relief - a drip moulding to allow water to drain away from the wall - and a semi-circular opening with a Gothic-style inscription, probably a date.
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The statue of the Virgin and Child
This polychrome wooden statue dates from the 18th or 19th century. It depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child on her left arm. It has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1986.
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Liturgical pools (or washbasins)
These shell-shaped basins, located in a niche in the choir, were used as sinks during mass to allow the priest to wash his hands.
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The stained glass windows
All the stained glass windows (nave and choir) were installed in the church in 2024 by the studio of stained glass artist Marie Payen.
As soon as you enter, you are greeted by a representation of Saint Landelin with his arms open above the main door. Then in the nave, all the stained glass windows are decorated in the same way: medallions evoke a passage from the Bible or the life of the saint. Each one seems independent yet linked by details. The lime tree of friendship is found in several windows, as are the Star and the Mountain.
In the choir, two stained glass windows face each other: the Sower and Our Lady. While the stained glass window of the Sower sends out a reference to life, the story of the blue stained glass window of Notre-Dame is darker. Depicted above a burning church, the Virgin accompanies 20 stars towards the sky, in reference to the inhabitants of the village of Quérénaing murdered by the Germans during the First World War. Only one star is different. Blue against a yellow background, it refers to the sole survivor of this massacre.
On the way out, a final stained glass window above the door leading to the narthex recalls the church's position on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
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