Sint-Pietersabdij Dendermonde (DSCF0469)

Dendermonde Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul (founded 1837) is a

Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; french: Termonde, ) is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-b ...

(Belgium), which played a role in the

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

in Belgium.

History

In 1837, under the leadership of Dom Veremundus D’Haens, the community of

Affligem Abbey Affligem Abbey ( nl, Abdij Affligem, french: Abbaye d'Affligem) is a Benedictine abbey in the municipality of Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, to the north-west of Brussels. Dedicated in 1086, it was the most important monastery in the Du ...

, dispersed since 1796, re-established their conventual life in buildings bought from the committee for the relief of poverty in the town of Dendermonde. These buildings were the site of a former Capuchin house, founded 1596 and suppressed in 1797. The church attached to the buildings had been reopened as a public chapel in 1815. In 1841 the community in Dendermonde was recognised as the continuation of the community founded in Affligem in the 12th century. A

royal order In Belgium, a Royal Decree (RD) or Royal Order () (Dutch), Arrêté Royal ( French), or Königlicher Erlass (German) is a federal governmental decree exercising legislation, or powers the legislature has delegated to the King as secondary legisla ...

of 1842 reserved the abbey church for public use. By 1846 there were twelve monks in the community, and in 1850 the monastery was incorporated into the

Cassinese Congregation The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within the Benedictine Confederation. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietro ...

. In 1868 the community acquired the remnants of their original house in Affligem, and in 1870 a colony of monks from Dendermonde was sent to Affligem to repopulate the abbey there. In 1890–1910, Dendermonde Abbey became a centre of the Liturgical Movement in Belgium. The abbey church was demolished to be replaced by a larger structure in 1901–1902. The new church was consecrated by

Antoon Stillemans Antoon Stillemans (10 December 1832, Sint-Niklaas – 5 November 1916, Ghent) was for 26 years the twenty-fourth bishop of Ghent, in Belgium. Education Stillemans began studies at the St. Joseph Minor Seminary of Sint-Niklaas in 1846. In 1853 he ...

bishop of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropoli ...

, on 19 August 1902. Most of the original conventual buildings in Dendermonde were destroyed by fire in 1914, but the church remained standing. Rebuilding commenced in 1919 and was completed in 1924, in Flemish Neo-Renaissance style. In 1939 the abbey church became a basilica. In 1945 a school was established that was closed in 2000. The school buildings were demolished in 2019 to be replaced by flats. The monastery buildings were

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

as a

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 2003 and as built heritage in 2010.

References

External links

* Official website : {{coord, 51.0296, 4.0998, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Christian monasteries in East Flanders Benedictine monasteries in Belgium 1837 establishments in Belgium

History

See also

References

External links