Church Saint-Ghislain

The church is a neo-Gothic building in sandstone and limestone, built by architect Flémal in 1886-87. This one-storey church is dedicated to Saint Ghislain (died 681). According to legend, he came from Athens and was commanded by God to come to Hainaut. Obedient but lost, an eagle and a bear showed him where to build a monastery: at Ursidongus, present-day Saint Ghislain, near Mons.
Moreover, according to legend, he would have helped a woman in labor, the wife of a landlord, in a difficult birth.

Therefore, he became the protector of the children, protecting them from convulsions (St Ghislain's disease), rickets and deformities. That is why in Hainaut and Namur the name Ghislain was added to the first name as a sign of protection.
Of the 1,473 people with the surname Ghislain in 1996, nearly 1,000 lived in Hainaut.
The church of Loyers never had a rectory, as it was served by the vicar appointed in Awagne.

Loyers is located on the slope and top of the N. slope of the valley of the Fonds de Leffe. It is a hamlet of the former commune of Lisogne and was originally the least populated part (1840:121). Today this part has 337 inhabitants due to new construction.

Willem Vandenameele