Though this famous Jesuit church has lost much of its glamour over the years, it remains a veritable temple of art. It is a textbook example of ecclesiastical baroque architecture. It is also the church of Rubens par excellence. Not only did Rubens diligently execute paintings for it, he also designed many of the sculptural decorations.
The building plans were drawn up by members of the order itself: firstly by rector Francois d’Aguilon and later on by friar Pieter Huyssens. The construction took only six years (1615-1621). Its patron saint was Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the order, whose canonisation was exuberantly celebrated here with fantastic processions, colourful street decorations and devotional theatrical performances. With the incomprehensibly hasty abolition of the order in 1773, their good were seized, inventoried, and sold to the public. With the church’s new function as a location for religious instruction, it also received a new patron saint: Carolus Borromeus (from Milan). The church became a self-standing parish through the concordat with Napoleon in 1803.
The facade, inspired by the first Jesuit church in Rome, sets out to stop the passer-by in his tracks. Proportions, colour nuances and the sumptuous decoration reflect the great self-awareness of the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation. The musical instruments and the trumpet-playing angels on the lower section provide the sound effects. The whole design of the sober Hendrik Conscience square was in fact the work of the Jesuit fathers. Originally they had a college here, quite unique in its day. Later it moved to the Prinsstraat, now the Jesuit university (UFSIA). The new monastery buildings were concentrated here around the Jesuit square with its public character, thereby making it a truly modern urban development intervening in the old mediaeval street pattern.
The church interior was designed as a baroque banqueting hall, the idea being to provide a foretaste of heavenly rejoicing with God! Such fabulous sums were spent on the decoration that the Jesuit church became known as ‘the marble temple’. We know from numerous surviving interior views dating from the seventeenth century that it was very striking indeed. However, 18 July 1718 was the black page in the diary of this church: lightning struck... and disaster followed. No fewer than thirty-nine ceiling paintings by Rubens went up in flames. The rebuilding of the columnar basilica was entrusted to J. P. Van Baurscheit Sr.; the result is rather austere. Restoration work carried out in the 1980s attempted to reproduce an approximation of the original pre-1718 interior, particularly in the imitation marble.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature is the main altar, a grandiose stage set with its still interchangeable paintings. Seeing, contemplating is after all a key concept in St. Ignatius’ instruction and meditational method. And that is precisely what the great Antwerpen masters of the baroque were paid to provide.
That is also why the confessional box and the panel work (M. Van der Voort Sr. and J.P. Van Baurscheit Sr., after 1718) leave no fragment of wall uncovered.
And that the Jesuits placed so much emphasis on instruction is illustrated by the pulpit (also by Van Baurscheit Sr.) where the monsters of falsehood and ignorance and the masks of deception are trodden underfoot.
If you really want to be entranced, there is the uncommonly rich Mary chapel where the baroque plays laughingly in a whimsical pattern within the marble panels; the colourful paintings on the marble (H. Van Balen Senior); the elegant white marble communion rail; the ceiling, designed by Rubens, with its gilt piecework and superior, stylised masks. Only very sad persons indeed will leave this chapel in a mournful mood.
It is only fitting that this feast for the eyes should be complemented by a feast for the ears. And that comes in vocal and instrumental form during the artists’ mass on Sundays at 11.30 hrs, a lovely tradition which draws large numbers of people from all over Greater Antwerp. The church regularly hosts concerts too. Then there is the impressive collection of lace which is an absolute must!
And don’t forget: the wonderfully beautiful tower (Sint-Katelijnevest) which, with its 58 metres in height, points towards God, from Whom all this baroque joy draws its true inspiration.
Laatste wijziging op 9/8/2002
Description St. Charles Borromeo’s church