Saint Denis

Choir enamels

Choir wall decoration (series of panels) by Henri Dobbelaer, Bruges. 1874-1880, neo-Gothic, painting on earthenware.
Representations of the apostles and doctors of the Church surmounted by panels with a choir of angels.
Details from left: Saint Peter, Saint Paul of Tarsus, Saint Andrew, Saint James the Greater, Saint John, Saint Matthias, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Jerome.

16th-century cross

Christ on the Cross, late 15th century (arms redone), Gothic, wood with traces of old polychromy, h.135. This Christ comes from the former church in the cemetery.

High altar

Neo-Gothic high altar (1874) in oak by M. Hoeken and G. Jansen (workshop of), Saint Trond.
Altar front with high reliefs: the sacrifice of Abel, the Last Supper: Jesus consecrates the wine, Abraham sacrifices Isaac, and 4 statues of prophets including David.

Tabernacle in brass, enamel and fancy stones, by Joseph Wilmotte of Liège, after a design by Jules Helbig of Liège, decorated with quatrefoils: pelican feeding its young, vexilliferous lamb whose blood flows into a chalice, symbols of the Evangelists.

Wall paintings (marouflaged canvases)

By Franz Damien (1902-1905):
North aisles, scenes from the life of Saint Joseph. South, scenes from the lives of saints. In the rood screen, St. Cecilia (south side) and David (north side).

By V. Devaux, Liège (1888):
Nave: first north bay: the mysteries of the Rosary, and first south bay, Saint Denis preaching to the Parisians.
Under the rood screen: on the south side, Jesus chases the merchants out of the Temple; on the north side, a child Jesus teaches the doctors of the law in the Temple.
In the choir, on the south side, the Adoration of the Shepherds and Magi; on the north side, the Triumph of the Holy Eucharist. Angels with banners on the choir vault.

Tympanum above the entrance door

The tympanum depicts Saint Denys, beheaded around 250 AD, holding his head in his hands.  It also evokes the Montmartre in Paris, the hill of the Mont des Martyrs where Saint Denys and his companions were martyred.

It also evokes the abbey of Saint-Denys in Paris, to which “Asca Super Jacara” (i.e. Grand'Axhe on the Geer) was bequeathed in 805 by Nevelong, a relative of Charlemagne. This is why our parish is dedicated to Saint Denys.

In 805, the first church in Grand'Axhe was dedicated to the martyr of Montmartre, and our first parish priest was a monk from Paris.

Altar of the Virgin Mary

North side altar matching the south side altar.
Front with high-reliefs depicting the Nativity, the Virgin and Child giving the rosary to Saint Dominic de Guzman, and the Deploration.
Niche altarpieces containing a statue of the Virgin and Child, surrounded by 2 statues of angels.
Expositorium with crucifix (h 60 cm) and relic boxes on either side.

Download the plan of the remarkable elements