Take a look behind the doors of our historic and breathtaking St John the Evangelist Church.
Highlights
- The baroque high altar is by the Brussels sculptor Jacques Bergé (1696-1756). From his hands are also the marble funerary monument of the abbots, the abbot’s throne, the trophies with the symbols of the Church and the Eucharist, and the wooden white statues of Norbertus with monstrance and St. John the Evangelist, which close off the choir section. The painting, The birth of Christ, is by Antwerp resident Erasmus Quellinus (1607-1678).
- The choir stall is an ensemble from the early 18th century. Pieter Jozef Verhaegen's eight large canvases depict scenes from the life of Norbertus, the founder of the Norbertines, and of his great example, Jesus.
- Two paintings, Norbertus receives the white toga and The ascension of Mary, are by Philippe de Champaigne (17th century) and Willem Jacob Herreyns (18th century). On the right side of the nave, there is a statue of Saint Quirinus, a martyr from Roman times (3rd century AD) who has been venerated at Park Abbey for centuries.
- At the back of the church, two confessional chairs form a strange combination with a confessional and a reliquary stand, respectively. That furniture is also by Bergé. The church fathers Augustine and Gregory also look on at the back.
Practical information