Saint Amandus Church

More idyllic than the church of Walsbets is this one from Wezeren. The church, which is architecturally a transition between Romanesque and Gothic, was built in the early 13th century. It was constructed against a defensive tower commissioned by Duke Henry I of Brabant. Wezeren was located on the border between the Duchy of Brabant and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and was regularly the scene of battles between the two powers. The Battle of Steps in 1213, about 2 km from the church, is well-known, during which the Liège crafts defeated the Brabant knights.

The tower was originally accessible via a ladder to the first floor and a small door that now gives access to the chancel. A narrow stone staircase of about 60 cm wide was carved into the wall and led upward. The chancel was built in 1759. The church benches date from 1774. In 1981, the tower was restored with Maaseik limestone and not with the original stones from Lincent.

A special sight is an altar that experts believe dates from the time of the Merovingians (7th century). It is a monolith with eleven niches topped with rosettes in the upper layer. These rosettes are thought to have come from the tomb of Pepin of Landen. Experts suspect that during the restoration of the altar in 1551, they were transferred here from the church of Gitterdal in Landen. The rosettes are symbols of the divine, the royal, and the holy, and appeared on grave monuments from the first centuries.

Also of interest are a baptismal font made of blue stone from Huy, a copper lectern, and a paschal candle holder from the 17th century, a Pietà by an anonymous artist from the 16th century, and a bronze shrine from 2005 with the relics of Amandus, Gertrudis, Begga, Bavo, Aldegondis, and the Holy Cross. Pepin of Landen and his wife Ida of Nivelles are depicted on the shrine. They are the parents of Gertrudis, Bavo, and Begga. Amandus was the advisor of Ida of Nivelles.

The veneration of Saint Amandus

In Wezeren, Saint Amandus is venerated, the saint who was worshipped for rickets. Father Jozef Lammers, who was the pastor of Wezeren in 1995, wrote the brochure “Parish Saint Amandus Wezeren” about this saint. He recounts that the veneration goes back to a dark past. More concretely, there is a mention of a brotherhood in the parish registers from 1582. This brotherhood was still active in 1995 and had more than seven hundred members at that time. The Saint Amandus indulgence was confirmed several times by popes until the time of the French Revolution.

Jan Rymenams