Saint Medard

Choir

The vaulted, semi-circular choir is flanked by two apsidoles detached from the main apse and unobstructed during the restoration of the 1970s. These were drowned in "annexed sacristies", the removal of which made it possible to clear the small Romanesque door to the left of the choir. This one facing East has five Romanesque openings in its lower part surmounted by Romanesque arches. The upper floor has five Gothic openings, vertically aligned with the Romanesque openings. These two floors are separated by a thick cordon marking the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The Saint-Médard church is a remarkable illustration of this transition.

Apsidioles

The right-hand apsidol when facing the central apse attracts attention by the tombstone that is located there. Until the 18th century, all the priests of Saint-Médard were in fact religious "professed of the Order of Hospitallers". The title of brother was attached to their name. We can therefore see it on Brother Joannes Stassoul's epitaph. "Here lies buried Brother Jean Stassoul, priest of this church...". The last of the Hospitaller Brothers is Remacle Mohy, who died in 1621.

The 18th century ceiling and the vaults of the side naves

The vault of the main nave is dated 1759. At that time the interior aspect of the church was completely modified. We're bringing it up to 18th century standards. The vault was therefore lowered and decorated with stuccoes. It is called a rocky vault. The original vault was a ribbed vault similar to the vaults of the two side naves. Traces bear witness to this primitive aspect of the ceiling: the beginning of this vault can be seen in the west gable, the bases of the columns supporting the vault at the bottom of the pillars, the trace of these pillars and the upper parts of the transept windows hidden by the lowered vault.

The mystical ecstasy of Saint Theresa of Avila

This religious scene of the Flemish School would be attributed to Erasmus Quellin (1607-1678), while the IRPA, to whom it was entrusted for its restoration, would tend to favour an "Anonymous" author. It is an oil on canvas that may have been painted for Saint-Médard church, although the link between Sainte-Thérèse and Jodoigne is not very well established, but at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, the theme was in fashion. This painting is remarkable for the delicacy of its faces and the rendering of its expressions.

St. Helena receiving a cross from the Pope

This is an oil on canvas by an unknown author dating from the early 18th century. The imposing dimensions of the work were customary for paintings exhibited in churches. It represents Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great who discovered the true cross in the 4th century. But it could be other saints represented here: it could be Sainte-Renèlde (7th century) who brought a piece of the cross from the Holy Land. She is venerated in Mechelen, where many of Saint-Médard's paintings come from. We would also distinguish Sainte-Radegonde (6th century), the first queen of France to receive a fragment of the cross of Emperor Justin II.

Gothic door

: The original portal served as the only entrance until 1822, when a more imposing entrance was opened in the facade, next to the single tower. In 1970, during the last restoration, this door was restored to its main entrance function. Its tympanum, where a small pedestal can be seen, was once adorned with a statue of Saint Medard. It would be the one inside the church, made of polychrome wood and whose feet would have been cut off in order to adapt to the height of the Gothic tympanum. One the left side of this door, we can see the traces of a small oratory, transformed into a hermitage in 1643. It was the chapel of the "petit Saint-Médard".

Download the plan of the remarkable elements