Fifth Vest Chapel - The Crucifixion - Peer

The fact that Maria holds Peer in her arms is very clearly expressed in the 7 fortress chapels that were built in 1647 by the Society on the fortresses around the centre.

Just as the Vesten had to protect Peer against gangs of robbers and mutinous soldiers passing by, the seven vest chapels on those Vests express that the Mother of Sorrows really holds Peer in her arms. The people of Peren felt and feel comfortable with it and that is why they have been holding a prayer procession to the seven vest chapels every September for 375 years .

Each vest chapel shows us one of the seven greatest sorrows of Mary . The scenes that are presented are not sugary pictures from old-fashioned educational booklets and catechism lessons. The seven vest chapels are a symbol of all kinds of suffering that can affect people in the past, now and in the future.

Mary is standing here with some friends at the cross on which Jesus is dying. The distance between Mary and Jesus is only a good meter, yet she cannot put her hand on Jesus' shoulder or Jesus' forehead for support. With the last ounce of strength that Jesus still feels in his decrepit body, he surprises his Mother. When he sees the apostle John standing next to Mary, he says to his mother: "Woman, behold your son" and to his friend John he says: "Behold your mother" . Thus the dying Jesus gives his mother a new and warm home for her old age.

Willem Vandenameele