Basilicas in Eastern Belgium

St. Martin’s Basilica, Liege, Liege

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1886.

The 16th Century Gothic Basilica replaced a 10th Century Romanesque church.  It was in the original church in 1246 that the Feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated for the first time.  Felix Mendelssohn’s Lauda Sion was first performed in the church in 1846.

From the Basilica website and Wikipedia.

Basilica Abbey of St. Benedict of Maredsous, Anhee, Namur

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

Maredsous Abbey is a Benedictine monastery that was founded in 1872.  The Basilica, which is the Abbey church, is built in a Gothic Revival style.

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

Abbey Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Saint-Hubert, Luxembourg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1927.

An abbey was on this site from 687 until 1797 (the French Revolution).  The current Gothic and Baroque church was built in the mid-16th Century to replace a 12th Century Romanesque church which was mostly destroyed by fire.  The current towers survived the fire.  French Huguenot soldiers burned the church in 1568, but it was repaired.  The current classical façade was added in 1702.  The church was largely abandoned from 1797 until 1841. 

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

Our Lady of Chevremont Basilica, Chaudfontaine, Liege

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1928.

A castle was established on this site in the 7th Century and around the same time, veneration began after the finding of a statue of Our Lady.  The castle was destroyed in 987 although veneration of Our Lady continued.  Jesuits, who had fled England, built a small chapel in 1688 which still stands.  Pilgrimages continued and the current Gothic basilica was built between 1877 and 1899.  The church was heavily damaged during the First World War, but was repaired.  Further damage was sustained in the Second World War, but restoration has been slow as most pilgrims now go to nearby Banneux, a Marian apparition site.  The Basilica’s future is uncertain since it was purchased in 2020 by a real estate developer. 

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady, Tongeren, Limburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

The Gothic Basilica was built beginning in the 13th Century and continuing for the next three centuries.  The Basilica was once the cathedral for the former Diocese of Tongeron and houses an image of Our Lady dating to 1475.

The top picture is from a local source and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of Mary, Kortenbos, Limburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1936.

A woman placed a statue of the Virgin Mary in an oak tree at this site in 1636 to protect the few inhabitants of the area from robbers.  A chapel was built in 1639 and pilgrims started coming to venerate Mary.  The current brick Baroque church was built between 1641 and 1648 but was soon enlarged.  Thousands of pilgrims continue to come to the church every year.

 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Abbatial Basilica of Our Lady d’Orval, Florenville, Luxembourg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII I 1939.

An abbey was established by Benedictines in 1070, but they left after 40 years.  Cistercian monks arrived in 1132 and served there until driven out during the French Revolution at which time the abbey was completely destroyed.  A family acquired the property in 1887 and returned it to the Cistercians in 1926.  The Basilica—the abbey church—opened in 1948.  Today the monks brew beer and make cheese.

Pictures are from a local source and Wikipedia.

Abbatial Basilica Our Lady of Val-Dieu, Aubel, Liege

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

Val-Dieu Abbey was established by the Cistercians in the 13th Century and remained despite wars until the French Revolution at which time the fourth abbey church was destroyed.  The abbey reopened in 1844 and remained open until 2001.  The abbey church—the Basilica—opened at some point during those years.  A small lay community now lives there and brews beer for income.

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

Basilica of St. Maternus (also Basilica of Our Lady), Walcourt Namur

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

St. Maternus was a missionary to this area in the early 4th Century and a Romanesque church was built on this site in the 11th Century in his honor.  A statue of Our Lady was in this new church.  The wooden statue survived a 1228 fire that destroyed the rest of the church.  Pilgrims started coming to the site to pray to Our Blessed Mother and the current Gothic basilica was built from the 13th to the 16th Centuries.  The rood screen was likely donated by Emperor Charles V in 1531.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Virga Jesse Basilica, Hasselt, Limburg

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

The first church on this site was built in the 14th Century and was replaced with the current church in 1731.  The building was heavily damaged during the Second World War but has been repaired.

Pictures are from Flickr, Pinterest, and TripAdvisor

Basilica of the Virgin with a Heart of Gold, Beauraing, Namur

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

The Virgin Mary appeared to five children in Beauraing 30 times between November 1932 and January 1933.  These apparitions have been approved as real by the Vatican.  The neo-Romanesque Basilica was built in 1954 on the site of the apparitions.

The first picture is from Pinterest and the others are from Wikipedia.