The Church of St. Joseph (; ) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church situated on the / in the

Leopold Quarter The Leopold Quarter (; Dutch language, Dutch: ) is a Quarter (country subdivision), quarter of Brussels, Belgium. The term is sometimes confused with the Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter, European Quarter, as the area has come t ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. Built between 1842 and 1849 in

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

style, it is a national sanctuary dedicated to Saint

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, who has been the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Belgium and its predecessor states since 1679.

History

Inspired by the church of

Trinità dei Monti The Church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called simply Trinità dei Monti (French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church, part of a monastery complex in Rome. It is best known for its positio ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the architect

Tilman-François Suys Tilman-François Suys (in French) or Tieleman Frans Suys (in Dutch) (1 July 1783 – 22 July 1864) was a Belgian architect who also worked in the Netherlands. Biography Suys completed his architectural education in Paris, where he studied un ...

decided to create a church resembling one of Rome's many basilicas with a flat

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

choir. The first stone of the building was laid by Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx on 6 April 1842. The Apostolic

Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Giacomo Cattani, consecrated the church on 24 June 1874 and also made it the National Shrine of Saint

. The church was occupied by the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...

for many

decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...

s until it was looked after by the

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

from 1989 to 2001. It was then acquired by the Priory of Christ the King of the

Society of St. Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX; ("Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X"), FSSPX) is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre was a leading traditionalist ...

, offering a much needed place of worship for their growing number of parishioners. The building received protected status through a

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

issued on 13 May 1981.

Description

The church has three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s measuring a total of in length and in width. Its

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

is high and is supported by two rows of Corinthian columns that separate the two

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s of the main church.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Church of St. Joseph, Brussels
Official site of the Society of Saint Pius X Belgium
Roman Catholic churches in Brussels City of Brussels Protected heritage sites in Brussels 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Belgium Roman Catholic churches completed in 1849 Buildings and structures of the Society of Saint Pius X

History

Description

See also

References

External links