Situated high above Sint-Truiden, the Church of Our Lady is easily recognisable from afar. Not only is it a landmark in the landscape, it also houses rare heritage! Descending into the crypt below the church you will find a treasure chamber containing 2 of the 15 remaining painted reliquaries.
Church of our Lady
The church has a deep-rooted connection to Saint Trudo, who established the Benedictine abbey in the 17th century. In the 11th century Abbot Adelard II commissioned the construction of a wooden church, the city’s first parish church, at this location. The church comprises many references to the saint, including the shrine containing his relics below the central altar. The building underwent various transformations, from wood to stone and from Roman to neo-Gothic style. The most recent restoration was completed in 2018. To this day the interior of the church is richly decorated with stained glass windows, murals, sculptures, paintings and precious metal art. The treasury, which is located in the crypt below the church, contains liturgical objects, including reliquaries, apostle statues and monstrances.
Reliquary of Saint Eucherius (1501-1525)
Which secrets does the 16th-century shrine of Eucherius hold, hidden below sinuous green plant motifs? The red inscription states: "SCS EUCH" and refers to Saint Eucherius. Born in Orléans into an affluent family, he joined the Benedictines of Jumièges as a monk around 714. He later became bishop of Orléans, but in 733 Charles Martel exiled him to Cologne because of his criticism of the confiscation of church property. He eventually became a protégé of Count Robert I of Haspengouw, following which he retired to the Benedictine abbey of Saint Trudo in Sint-Truiden. He died in 743 and was buried alongside Saint Trudo. Miraculous stories soon circulated and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. Unlike Saint Trudo's shrine, no effigy of Eucherius was painted here. You can find him in the Church of Our Lady though on the mural entitled The Vision of Eucherius and Litany of Marie by Jules Helbig.
Christina the Astonishing, Georges Baltus
Saint Christina hovers above the three distinctive towers of Sint-Truiden: the Abbey of Saint Trudo, the town hall and the Church of Our Lady. Eyes closed and arms outstretched she offers protection to the city. Sint-Truiden’s history is shrouded in the red glow of war violence. The prayer in the frame composed by the dean at that time, Beckers, begs for protection from plague, famine and war. Georges Baltus donated the artwork to his hometown church in 1915 as a tribute to his youth. One year earlier Baltus had been surprised by the German invasion during his summer vacation in Sint-Truiden and was unable to return to Glasgow. He was staying in his family home on Grote Markt at the time, where he completed the painting of Christina. He reportedly told a priest that the inspiration for this painting came from Christina the Astonishing by Abraham van Diepenbeeck, a pupil of Rubens.
Practical information
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Accessibility
• The church is easily accessible to people with disabilities,
• but the treasury is not easily accessible to people with disabilities.