St. Charles Borromeo Church (Dutch: ''Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk'') is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in central

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, located on the Hendrik Conscience square. It was built in 1615-1621 as the Jesuit church of Antwerp, which was closed in 1773. It was rededicated in 1779 to Saint

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

. The church was formerly known for 39 ceiling pieces by Rubens that were lost in a fire when lightning struck the church on 18 July 1718.

History

The church was inspired by the

Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

of the

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

, a

Roman Catholic religious order In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of religious institute. Subcategories of religious orders are: * canons regular (canons and canoness ...

also known as the Jesuits.Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk, Sodaliteit en Professenhuis
at the Belgian heritage register The church was built next to the ''Huis van Aecken'', bought from the heirs of

Erasmus II Schetz Erasmus II Schetz sometimes Scets died 1550 was a Flemish nobleman. Lord of Grobbendonk He was born as son of Conrad I Schetz who married in 1485 to Maria Crans di Roscara, daughter of Mathieu Roscara. He lived in Maastricht, and came to Antwer ...

. It was the first church in the world to be dedicated to the Jesuit founder,

Ignatius Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

. In 1617-1618 Rubens painted two altarpieces. He was also commissioned to paint the ceiling pieces, for which he made the designs while the execution was done mostly by pupils, including

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

.Rubens: A Genius at Work : the Works of Peter Paul Rubens in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium reconsidered.
by Joost Vander Auwera, Sabine van Sprang, Véronique Bücken, Arnout Balis, Nora De Poorter, Nico van Hout, Christine Van Mulders, Michèle Van Kalck and by members of the Rubens project team (Hélène Dubois, Natasja Peeters, Bert Schepers and Tine Meganck). A contract was drawn up in 1620 by Jacobus Tirinus and the paintings were delivered a year later in time for the consecration. Rubens received 7,000 guilders for his works in the church, and though the lavish decorations including sculptures and other artwork were well received, Tirinus was dismissed in 1625 for going beyond his budget. In 1718 the vault of the nave, including Rubens' ceiling paintings, was destroyed by fire.

Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt the Elder Jan Peter van Baurscheit the Elder (1669–1728) was a sculptor from the Southern Netherlands. Elder was born in Wormersdorf as the son of the mayor there, and moved to Antwerp, where he first apprenticed to the nephew of Pieter Verbrugghen the ...

restored the damaged parts according to the original plan, but replaced the original coffers with wide transverse arches. In 1773 the Society of Jesus was suppressed and the building was confiscated. It reopened in 1779, renamed St.-Carolus Borromeuskerk, after

. Since 1803 the St.-Carolus Borromeuskerk has been in use as a parish church. During the Dutch reign preceding Belgium's independence in 1830 the baroque interior was sobered to make it a Protestant church. A restoration campaign in the 1980s brought back the churches baroque splendor. Besides works by Rubens the interior displays paintings by

Gerard Seghers Gerard SeghersGerard Seghers
at the

Daniel Seghers Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and Flemish Baroque painter, painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of ...

, and

Cornelis Schut Cornelis Schut (13 May 1597 – 29 April 1655) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, engraver and tapestry designer who specialized in religious and mythological scenes. Presumed to have trained under Rubens, he treated Counter-Reformation ...

. On 30 August 2009 fire broke out again, but none of the important artworks were damaged.Lichtspots oorzaak van brand Carolus Borromeuskerk
(Spotlights cause fire in Carolus Borromeuskerk), www.demorgen.be, September 20, 2009

Gallery

File:Sebastiaan Vrancx 001.jpg, Painting of the interior by

Sebastiaen Vrancx Sebastiaen Vrancx, Sebastiaan Vrancx or Sebastian Vranckx (; 22 January 1573 – 19 May 1647) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and designer of prints who is mainly known for his battle scenes, a genre that he pioneered in Netherlandish ...

, c. 1630 File:Hieronymus Janssens and Willem von Ehrenberg - Interior of the Saint Carolus-Borromeus Church in Antwerp.jpg, Painting of the interior by

Hieronymus Janssens Hieronymus Janssens or Jeroom Janssens (nicknamed ''Den danser'') (1624, Antwerp – 1693, Antwerp) was a Flemish genre painter known for his compositions depicting elegant companies engaging in dance, music or play, which were of influence on the ...

and

Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg or Willem Schubart van Ehrenberg (also: Wilhem Schubert von Ehrenberg or Wilhem Schubert van Ehrenberg ( Antwerp, 1630 or 1637– Antwerp, c. 1676) was a Flemish painter mainly active in Antwerp who specialized i ...

, c. 1660 File:Anton Gunther Gheringh - Façade of the Jesuit Church, Antwerp.jpg, Painting of the façade by Anton Gunther Ghering, c. 1665 File:Jacobus Balthasar Peeters - Interior of the Jesuit Church in Antwerp1.jpg, Interior of the church showing the state before the fire by

Jacob Balthasar Peeters Jacob Balthasar Peeters, also known as Jacob Peeters or Jacobus Peeters (1660-61 – after 1721) was a Flemish painter who specialized in architectural paintings depicting imaginary Renaissance and Baroque palaces populated with elegant figures ...

, 1721 File:Jacobus Balthasar Peeters - Interior of the Jesuit Church in Antwerp2.jpg, Interior of the church showing the state before the fire by

, 1721 File:Interieur Carolus Borromeuskerk.jpg, Church interior

References

External links

* {{Authority control Carol Carol Carol 1625 establishments in the Habsburg Netherlands Jesuit history in Europe Charles Borromeo

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links