Église des Rédemptoristes - Tournai

This church was built in 1861-1862 under the direction of the Tournai architect Justin Bruyenne, to whom we owe a number of churches, castles, mansions, crypts, etc.

The location of this church caused the Tournaiers to nickname the Redemptorists: the Fathers on the Quay . It used to be surrounded by a beautiful garden.

The building of the Redemptorist Church is constructed of brick (for the central nave and side aisles) and blue stone for the facade. The roof is made of slate, with a gable over the central nave and a roof over the side aisles. The facade is in turn framed by two square towers; the portal, semicircular, with arches and columns, is crowned by a silent tympanum. There is a rose window above an openwork gallery. This ensemble is reminiscent of the facade of Tournai Cathedral.

The church was served by a community of Redemporist fathers , who had their monastery right next door . The religious left in 2003. The Diocese of Tournai dismantled the church in 2003 and sold it and its outbuildings. A Dutch entrepreneur used the garden and the former monastery of the Redemptorist Fathers (right of the church) to turn it into an apartment complex. The church altar disappeared during the real estate transaction. It had a chapel dedicated to Saint Gerard Majella . There was a very beautiful organ , built by Charles Anneessens in 1881, with 22 registers on two keyboards and pedals.

Willem Vandenameele