Saint Salvator's Cathedral

The oldest traces of the Saint Salvator Church take us back to the 9th century. The current church, built in Scheldegothic style, dates from the 14th century.

Upon entering the church, the pulpit by Hendrik Pulinx jr. (1778) featuring the marble statue of Saint Eloi, the missionary of our region during the 7th century, draws our attention. In the side aisle stands the silver shrine of Saint Eloi, a work by Jan Crabbe (1612). On the long sides are the twelve apostles. The short sides feature Christ and Saint Eloi. At the ridge of the roof, the four evangelists are depicted, surrounded by Saint Eloi and Our Lady. At the bottom of the roof are the church fathers of the West (Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great) and of the East (Basil, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa). In the four corners, angels announce the Last Judgment with trumpets and bring the crowns with which Saint Eloi will be adorned.

Also in the cathedral is the 15th-century wooden statue of Saint Donatian, 7th bishop of Reims (360-390) and patron saint of the cathedral and the parish of Saint Donatian. His relics are kept in a coffin-shaped shrine, made with fragments from different eras (12th-17th century).

Inspiring and inviting to meditation is certainly the Stations of the Cross of Stillness, a work by Jac Bisschop (2010). The treasury houses a remarkable collection of paintings, sculptures, silverwork, and textiles.

This church is an Open Church.

Stichting Open Kerken