Chapel of the Moon

In 1933 , the couple Emmanuel (Maantje) Lagast and Julia Van Eeghem, residents of the nearby farm "De Sloepe", had this chapel built in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes in thanks for the healing of their daughter Catharina.

This yellow-framed gabled building has a distinctive three-lobed roof facade , basket arch entrance, and neat interior with cement tile floor.

Grandson Roger Lagast: “ Every year in early May there was a pilgrimage from the Sint-Amandus church in Uitkerke to our chapel. The pastor led the way and the people followed, singing and praying. The tour went around the chapel.. Then there was a ditch full of reeds. That was nice. In front of the chapel was also a door painted white, with the letters A and M, Ave Maria . After the tour procession , people stayed here to eat sandwiches on heads . That was in the stable we cleaned for the occasion. There was work in it! We also threw a glass of beer because if we didn't give food and drink people wouldn't come anymore... The last pilgrimage was in 1982. The 1983 should have been a festive edition, with horses and carriages and music because the chapel was only built fifty years ago, but it didn't happen because it rained cats and dogs all day long, non-stop. After that, nobody took the initiative anymore The procession passed in silence.

An interesting fact is that " De Sloepe ", the name the municipality later gave to the farm, refers to the time of the war when the whole area around the farm was flooded. The Germans had crossed lock 43 to prevent a possible Allied invasion. “Our farm had its feet in the water and my dad just chose to live in the attic . This lasted a few weeks. The buttocks were also down. Before the cows were stabled at Louwagie, they were left on flooded pastures. Here and there was a piece of grass that was still above the water and that the animals were looking for. When the cows had to be milked, my mother needed a boat to get there, a sloop. They could have gotten a rowing boat from the Blankenberge rescue service and she rowed her cows several times a day. In the boat his pail, his wooden chair and the water bottle into which to pour the milk.”

Willem Vandenameele