Oostakker (), formerly spelled Oostacker, is one of the smaller former municipalities which were merged into

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

(from which it is only two miles), the capital of the Belgian province of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

. The hamlet is mainly known for the

Shrine of Oostakker The Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic church at Oostakker, near Ghent in Belgium. Built in neogothic style at the end of the XIXe century it is the most important centre of Marian pilgrimage in Flanders. In 1873 the Marquise of ...

, a Roman Catholic

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

of the Virgin Mary. Residents of Oostakker are called Oostakkezen.

Shrine of Oostakker

The miraculous shrine of the Blessed Virgin is a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is a comparatively recent, dating from 1873 dating from a statue in a grotto built by the local gentry family. It was first opened to the local peasants on Sundays, but comparatively quickly it became very popular with a large Gothic church starting to be built in 1877. The shrine was entrusted to the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Gallery

Image:Basiliek Oostakker-Lourdes.jpg,

Oostakker Basilica The Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic church at Oostakker, near Ghent in Belgium. Built in neogothic style at the end of the XIXe century it is the most important centre of Marian pilgrimage in Flanders. In 1873 the Marquise ...

. Image:Oostakker - Sint-Amanduskerk 2.jpg, Church of Saint Amand.

References

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{{coord, 51, 06, N, 3, 46, E, display=title, region:BE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Shrines to the Virgin Mary Sub-municipalities of Ghent Populated places in East Flanders