Basilicas in Western Belgium

Basilica of Our Lady of Dadizele, Dadizele, West Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1882.

The neo-Gothic Basilica was built between 1857 and 1867 and replaced a 15th Century Gothic church that was a pilgrimage destination.  The Basilica has a 15th Century Madonna made of alabaster.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Help, Bon-Secours, Hainaut

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius X in 1910.

The Neo-Gothic Basilica was built between 1885 and 1892 on the site of an oak tree that once had a statue of Our Lady.  Pilgrimages date to the Middle Ages.  The current statue was carved from the wood of the oak tree that died in the 17th Century.

All pictures are from the Basilica website.

Holy Savior Cathedral Basilica, Bruge, West Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1921.

The Basilica is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Bruges.  The Romanesque church was constructed over a one-hundred-year period starting in 1250.  Originally a parish church, it did not become the Cathedral until 1834 at which time improvements were made.  It has artwork from the former cathedral which was destroyed by the French in the 19th Century.

The first picture is from a local website and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Holy Blood, Bruge, West Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1923.

Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, built the current Basilica between 1134 and 1157 as a chapel and to contain a relic of Christ’s Holy Blood.  Thierry had participated in the Second Crusade and obtained the relic from his brother-in-law in Jerusalem.  The church has two chapels.  The Romanesque lower chapel is dedicated to St. Basil the Great.  The upper chapel, which contains the Precious Blood, was originally built in a Romanesque style, but was changed to a Gothic style in the 16th Century and to a Gothic Revival style in the 19th Century.  The reliquary used to hold the phial with the Precious Blood contains 66 pounds of gold and silver and has more than 100 precious stones.

The first picture is from Flickr and the rest from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes, Oostakker, East Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1924. 

A grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was built on the estate of a member of the royal family in 1873.  Local people requested that they be allowed to visit the Grotto especially after a reputed healing attributed to Our Lady’s intercession in 1875.  As a result, the current neo-Gothic church was completed in 1876 and given to the Jesuits.  It is the most important pilgrimage destination in Flanders.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Abbatial Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Dendermonde, East Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1938.

Dendermonde Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1837.  The Abbey became a center for a Belgian Liturgical Movement between 1890 and 1910.  The Abbey church was built in 1901-1902 but was heavily damaged by fire in 1914.  It was renovated in a Flemish neo-Renaissance style between 1919 and 1924.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Tongre, Tongre-Notre-Dame, Hainaut

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

An image of the Madonna mysteriously appeared at this site in 1081.  Pilgrims soon started coming to the site and the image was moved to the parish church.  A chapel was later built at the original site and a Gothic church was built in the 13th Century.  The current Baroque church was built in 1777.  Pilgrims, including Belgian royalty and other European royalty, have donated jewels and other precious objects to Our Lady.

 

The first two pictures are from Wikipedia and the last two are from local sources.

Abbatial Basilica of St. Andrew’s, Sint-Andries, West Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1952.

St. Andrew’s Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in the 12th Century.  The Basilica, which is the Abbey church, was built around 1900 in a neo-Romanesque style.  The church has seven chapels, one for each of the “seven great churches in Rome.” 

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Hope, Vellereille-les-Brayeux, Hainaut

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1957.

Bonne-Esperance (Good Hope) Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey that existed from 1130 until the French Revolution in the late 18th Century.  It now serves as a diocesan seminary and the seminary church dates to at least the early 17th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Hermes, Ronse, East Flanders

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2018.

There have been several churches on this site to hold relics of St. Hermes.  The first church was built in the 9th Century and was replaced in the 12th Century.  This church was burnt by the English in 1424 and replaced with the current Gothic church over the next century. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.