Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Sang (Monastère Saint-Charbel)

Statue of Our Lady of Grace and Consolation

The statue of Our Lady of Grace and Consolation is the oldest piece in the abbey. During an epidemic of plague in 1336, the inhabitants of Ittria came to fetch the statue of the Blessed Virgin for a procession. The epidemic ended, and Bishop William II of Auxone, of Cambrai, decided that Our Lady would remain in Ittria. A few years later, around 1350, the abbey had another statue sculpted for itself, which is still present today in the abbey chapel. 

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The miracle of the Holy Blood

On June 5, 1405, the Friday before Pentecost, the priest of Haut-Ittre, celebrating Mass at the offertory, unfolds the corporal and notices in the folds of this cloth a fragment of a host that had been forgotten at his last Mass. Wanting to put it aside for consumption at the time of communion, he saw that drops of blood were spilling on the white cloth. On October 18, 1413, Pierre d'Ailly, Bishop of Cambrai, recognized the miracle of the Holy Blood as authentic. In 1555, Prior Hubert Lescot ordered a goldsmith in Leuven to make a magnificent monstrance-reliquary in Gothic style for the relic of the miracle, which still holds the sacred corporal.

The Chapel

The chapel, in Gothic style and topped by an elegant bell tower, is the oldest building in the complex (1597): today it serves as an abbey church and parish church. The main altar dates from the end of the 18th century and is the work of Laurent Delvaux. He himself carved the two angels in adoration in front of the tabernacle and the wonderful bas-relief: the tomb of Jesus, a true masterpiece of this artist. 

The relic of the True Cross

The relic of the True Cross. This particular relic comes from the famous Abbey of Floreffe, founded by Saint Norbert himself. It was given to this monastery in 1204 by the Count of Namur, Philip the Noble, who held it from his brother Baudouin, Emperor of Constantinople. After the French Revolution, the surviving canons of Floreffe transferred it to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac.

Thorn in the crown of Our Lord

A thorn in the crown of Our Lord. Saint Louis, the king of France, had received the crown during a crusade and had erected the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris for it. Some thorns were given to monasteries. This belonged to the Cistercian nuns of Wauthier-Braine. The abbess Maximilienne Guillaume, after the suppression of her monastery by the French, entrusted the thorn to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac in 1825.

Museum

In 2013, the monks opened a museum that allows you to better understand the history of the abbey and admire pieces of great value: reproductions, liturgical vestments, liturgical furniture, relics of the martyrs of the Theban Legion (286). The scrolls recognizing the authenticity of the miracle and the foundation of the abbey cannot be displayed for safety reasons. They are replaced by quality photos.