Saint-Jean l'Evangéliste
Place Xavier Neujean
4000 Liège
Collegiate Church | XI-1754 | Romanesque, Neoclassical | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
04 April - 18 April
Mon 14.00 - 17.00
Tue 10.00 - 12.00 • 14.00 - 17.00
Wed 10.00 - 12.00 • 14.00 - 17.00
Thu 10.00 - 12.00 • 14.00 - 17.00
Fri 14.00 - 17.00
Sat 10.00 - 12.00 • 14.00 - 17.00
Sun 14.00 - 17.30
01 June - 30 June
Mon -
Tue -
Wed -
Thu -
Fri -
Sat 14.00 - 17.30
Sun 14.00 - 17.30
01 July - 15 September
Mon 14.00 - 17.30
Tue 14.00 - 17.30
Wed 14.00 - 17.30
Thu 14.00 - 17.30
Fri 14.00 - 17.30
Sat 14.00 - 17.30
Sun 14.00 - 17.30
Guided tour
Free guides all day round
16/09 - 14/06 :
guides by arrangement :
Monsieur Samyn : +32 485 64 20 37
Madame Demez-Dengis : demez-dengis@hotmail.com
Religious offices
from Monday till Friday : 12.15 am
Sunday : 6 pm
Description
The church of Saint John the evangelist was founded by bishop Notger around 980 and he is buried here. It was rebuilt between 1750 and 1765 following the original octagonal plan. Llisted as outstanding Wallonia patrimony, it shelters three mediaeval works of art.
The “Sedes sapientiae” (the seat of the wise) is a statue of the Virgin and Child, dating from 1230, beautifully carved in oak with its original multi-colouring. A fine drape of the cloth. Can be seen in the 3rd chapel on the left.
The Virgin and Saint John at Calvary from 1250 in the chapel on the left of the choir are two exceptional statues realistically depicting, with great mastery,the sorrow of the witnesses to the crucifixion.
The church has also preserved fine quality baroque furnishings.
KIKIRPA : Photo-library online
Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Sedes Sapientiae
Meuse school (about 1230). This masterpiece of Meuse area art and of European Gothic is one of the most beautiful, the most precious and the most harmonious on the theme of the Virgin and Child. Mary, the seat of wisdom, a queen seated on a throne rich in precious stones, a new Eve crushing the dragon is also a woman of outstanding beauty.
Calvaire
The Virgin and Saint John at Calvary. Meuse school (around 1250-1260).These two unhappy witnesses of Golgotha used to dominate the entry to the choir. The dress tightened by a belt, draped in a cape, the face tense and tilted, the look drowned in sadness, the hands joined, the Virgin forces herself to supress her sufferings. Saint John , putting his hand on his forehead, expresses the same depression.
These two statues are the works of two sculptors, evidently of two different schools and are among the oldest of the Meuse school.
Notger
Born into a noble Swabian family and educated in the Benedictine abbey of Saint Gall, he then entered the court of Otton 1st.Becoming bishop of Liege in 972 he undertook the building of a new episcopal palace and the new cathedral of Notre Dame and Saint –Lambert (978-1015).He also founded the collegiates Sainte- Croix(978-986),Saint-Denis(987-1011) and Saint Jean(980-986). He died on the 10th April 1008 and is buried in this Collegiate but the location of his tomb in the church is not known.The statue and the prie- Dieu are all that remain of the cenotaph that used to be in the chapel beneath the tower.
The cloisters (16,18 and 19th century)
The southern aisle has fine Gothic arches. The coat of arms of Prince- Bishop Erard de la Marck visible under a canopy, show it to be dated to the beginning of the 16th century. In the N W corner of the cloister is a strange sandstone high relief which was previously in polychrome. This is the epitaph of the Canon Guillaume de Wavre (died 1457) depicting “The meal at Simon the Pharisis”. The Dominican community is in the cloisters’ north aisle.
The pulpit and confessionals
The conversion of the old collegiate to a parish church made confessionals necessary. In the early part of the second half of the 19th century the idea of acquiring new confessionals germinated .The sculptor Alexandre de Tombay (1815-1881), creator of the stations of the cross, made these confessionals.
