Oostakker Basilica
TheBasilicaof Our Lady of Lourdesis aRoman Catholicchurch atOostakker,nearGhentinBelgium.Built inneogothicstyle at the end of the XIXe century it is the most important centre of Marian pilgrimage inFlanders.
In 1873 the Marquise of Courtebourne-de Nédonchel had aLourdes grottobuilt in the gardens of her château at Slotendries. People fromGhentand other nearby locations asked to be allowed to visit the grotto and pray there, and it was claimed that in 1875Pieter De Rudderwas miraculously healed of a compound fracture.
To accommodate the resulting increase in the number of pilgrims, aneo-Gothicchurch based on plans by E. Van Hoecke-Peeters (slightly modified byJ. B. Bethune) was completed in 1876 and consecrated in 1877. It was entrusted to theJesuits,to which the Marquis's late son had belonged.[1]
In one of the towers there is acarillonmade up of 49 bells, cast by the Michiels Foundries in the 1950s. The keyboard was temporarily removed during renovation works in the 1970s but has not yet been replaced to this date.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)..Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Media related toOnze-Lieve-Vrouw van Lourdesbasiliek (Oostakker)at Wikimedia Commons
51°4′57″N3°45′47″E/ 51.08250°N 3.76306°E
 | This article about aRoman Catholicchurch building in Europe is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |