Church and cemetery
Church, choir and cemetery: powerful and magnificent heritage
Saint John the Evangelist Church
The site’s impressive abbey church has an equally impressive history: within two years of the founding of the Norbertine abbey in 1129, a Romanesque chapel stood here. Although major changes were made in and to the church during the 16th and 17th centuries, traces of the 13th century Romanesque church can still be found.
The church houses some exquisite pieces. The highlights include the panelling with paintings by Pieter Jozef Verhaghen, the impressive memento mori tomb monument and the still fully intact, beautifully decorated 18th century choir.
Parish Church
In 1797, the prefect of the department of the Dyle established by the French government ordered the closure of Park Abbey. It was not until 1801, when Napoleon signed an agreement with Pope Pius VII, that there was again room for worship.
In 1803, the church changed its status: no longer an exclusive abbey church for the Norbertines, but a parish church. While the monks of Park Abbey still use their church every day for choir prayer and the eucharist, you can attend the Sunday celebration here each Sunday at 11 a.m.
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Cemetery
In 1803, the reopened abbey church was recognised as a parish church by the diocese of Mechelen. This pivotal moment also marked the beginning of the present-day cemetery, as parishioners were traditionally buried around their parish church. The cemetery was established at the location where the monastery orchard of the Norbertines of Park Abbey once extended.
From the outset, not only parishioners, but also prominent Leuven residents chose the abbey as their final resting place. These included figures such as Canon J.B. David (+ 1866), Rector Ladeuze (+ 1910), Minister of State and architect Joris Helleputte (+1910), Rector Pieter De Somer (+1985), former Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens (+1988) and singer Zjef Vanuytsel (+2015). Taken together, they point to important episodes in the politics, culture and history of the Catholic University of Leuven.
To this day, this old and tradition-rich cemetery retains its function, making it a special funerary site.
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