St. Jan Berchmans Church, Brussels
Encyclopedia
The Church of St. John Berchmans is the Roman Catholic church of the Collège Saint Michel of Brussels
, Belgium
. Founded by the Society of Jesus
at the turn of the 20th century, the church is dedicated to the Belgian jesuit saint St. Jan Berchmans.
, Nuncio
to Belgium
, laid down the foundation stone of the church on . Architect Joseph Prémont was inspired by the Rhenan Romanesque tradition of the Middle Ages. The church is of Rhenan Romanesque revival style and was consecrated on by Msg. Joseph van Reeth (s.j.
) bishop of Galle
.
and rose stone from the Gileppe
, is decorated with a statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the Collège. Two Romanesque entrances on the apse's right and left side lead to an antechamber.
. The nave on three levels is divided in four spans by two times three monolithic barreled columns of polished Labrador granite
. The capitals
, made of white Euville
stone, are all decorated with different motifs. The choir ends in a semi-circular apse under a five-sided arch. The back of the church also forms a semi-circular apse
, inspired by the style of the Romanesque churches of the region of the Rhine.
Suspended above the columns of the nave, six statues of saints of the Society of Jesus rest on pedestals with their carved initials. On the left, towards the main altar: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Saint Francis de Geronimo and St. Stanislas Kostka. On the right, St. Peter Claver, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Francis Borgia. The statues of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez and St. Peter Claver are by Belgian sculptor C. Van de Cappele. The others are by Belgian sculptor Oscar Sinia.
After the Second Vatican Council
and the liturgical reforms which followed, several transformations of the interior arrangement were carried out in 1968. Much of the original furniture has disappeared. The main altar, made after drawings of the architect Joseph Prémont, was surmounted by a tabernacle
set up in a retable
decorated with statuettes of copper. The altar was presented the International Exhibition of Brussels
in 1910.
of the lower windows were made by the workshop of Camille Ganton-Defoin, Ghent
. They depict the important events of life of Jesus Christ. The stained windows of the choir came from the workshop of Stalins in Antwerp. They represent the Holy Trinity, in the center, surrounded by the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Four Church Fathers (St. Gregory the Great, St. Augustine
, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome) and the eights saints of the Society of Jesus.
The transept rose window on the right is dedicated to Belgium with, around St. Joseph, patron Saint of Belgium, Belgian saints or saint venerated in different Belgian cities. The rose window on the left depicts the Tree of Jesse
with the Virgin Mary surrounded by personages of the Old Testament
.
.
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Founded by the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
at the turn of the 20th century, the church is dedicated to the Belgian jesuit saint St. Jan Berchmans.
History
The purpose of the church was to form the vital center of the newly created Collège Saint Michel. It was build in the same architectural style as the rest of the school buildings. Msg. Giovanni Tacci PorcelliGiovanni Tacci Porcelli
Giovanni Tacci Porcelli was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1922 to 1927, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1921.-Biography:...
, Nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, laid down the foundation stone of the church on . Architect Joseph Prémont was inspired by the Rhenan Romanesque tradition of the Middle Ages. The church is of Rhenan Romanesque revival style and was consecrated on by Msg. Joseph van Reeth (s.j.
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
) bishop of Galle
Roman Catholic Diocese of Galle
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galle is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.Erected as the Diocese of Galle in 1893, the diocese is suffragan to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo...
.
Exterior
The façade, made of grey freestoneFreestone
A freestone is a stone used in masonry for molding, tracery and other replication work required to be worked with the chisel. The freestone must be fine-grained, uniform and soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. Some sources say that the stone has no grain, but this is...
and rose stone from the Gileppe
Gileppe
The Gileppe is a river in Belgium with a length of about 20 km. It is a left tributary of the Vesdre. Its source is in the High Fens of eastern Belgium. The Gileppe flows through an artificial lake , built in 1867-1878 and enlarged to 1.3 square kilometres in 1968-1971, creaed by the Gileppe Dam...
, is decorated with a statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the Collège. Two Romanesque entrances on the apse's right and left side lead to an antechamber.
Interior
The church is built in a Latin Cross plan with a central nave and two aisles, cut by a small transeptTransept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. The nave on three levels is divided in four spans by two times three monolithic barreled columns of polished Labrador granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
, made of white Euville
Euville
Euville is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meuse department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...
stone, are all decorated with different motifs. The choir ends in a semi-circular apse under a five-sided arch. The back of the church also forms a semi-circular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, inspired by the style of the Romanesque churches of the region of the Rhine.
Suspended above the columns of the nave, six statues of saints of the Society of Jesus rest on pedestals with their carved initials. On the left, towards the main altar: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Saint Francis de Geronimo and St. Stanislas Kostka. On the right, St. Peter Claver, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Francis Borgia. The statues of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez and St. Peter Claver are by Belgian sculptor C. Van de Cappele. The others are by Belgian sculptor Oscar Sinia.
After the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
and the liturgical reforms which followed, several transformations of the interior arrangement were carried out in 1968. Much of the original furniture has disappeared. The main altar, made after drawings of the architect Joseph Prémont, was surmounted by a tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
set up in a retable
Retable
A retable is a framed altarpiece, raised slightly above the back of the altar or communion table, on which are placed the cross, ceremonial candlesticks and other ornaments....
decorated with statuettes of copper. The altar was presented the International Exhibition of Brussels
Brussels International 1910
Exposition Universelle et Internationale was a world's fair held in Brussels in 1910 from April 23 to November 1. This was just thirteen years after the previous Brussels world's fair....
in 1910.
Stained windows
The stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
of the lower windows were made by the workshop of Camille Ganton-Defoin, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. They depict the important events of life of Jesus Christ. The stained windows of the choir came from the workshop of Stalins in Antwerp. They represent the Holy Trinity, in the center, surrounded by the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Four Church Fathers (St. Gregory the Great, St. Augustine
St. Augustine
-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome) and the eights saints of the Society of Jesus.
The transept rose window on the right is dedicated to Belgium with, around St. Joseph, patron Saint of Belgium, Belgian saints or saint venerated in different Belgian cities. The rose window on the left depicts the Tree of Jesse
Tree of Jesse
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the Ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David; the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a genealogy...
with the Virgin Mary surrounded by personages of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
.
Organ
The romantic organ of the church was built by the prolific Belgian organ builder Jean-Emile Kerkhoff. Built between 1909 and 1910, the organ has three keyboards, a pedal board and 36 organ stops. The organ was inaugurated on by a performance of Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Widor
Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
.