Eglise Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel - Strud

At the tip of the spur occupied by the cemetery is a Romanesque church of sand and limestone rubble dating from about 1100.

The building, which dominates the village , originally consisted of a tower, three naves of three bays and a chancel, probably with a flat chevet. In 1891 it was extended in the same style and a projecting chapel and sacristies were added . The four-storey tower with its steep slope was topped with an octagonal spire in the 17th century and is a landmark in the landscape.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is one of several names of the Virgin Mary. Her name comes from Mount Carmel in Israel , a name derived from Carmel or Al-Karem, which could be translated as garden . There are today all over the world religious orders of Carmelites , both male and female, dedicated to this Marian figure.

The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is intended to recall a great grace that Mary bestowed upon the Order of Mount Carmel and through her upon the entire Church. On the night of July 16, Simon Stock asked with particular fervor for the protection of the Blessed Virgin over his institute. At dawn Mary appeared to him, accompanied by a host of angels, surrounded by light and dressed in the habit of Carmel.

Her face smiled; in her hands she held the scapular of the Order. She imposed it on herself before the saint, saying: "This is a privilege for you and for all the Carmelites. Whoever dies wearing this habit will not undergo eternal fire.

Willem Vandenameele