Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua - Deine

This chapel is located at the entrance to Crombrugghe Castle.

This brick chapel in neo-Romanesque style , according to the inscription inside, was founded in 1872 (?) by L. Rasson in memory of her late husband L. van Crombrugghe because he survived the battle of Mentana as a papal soldier. However, we remain saddled with a mystery . If we can believe the text on the wall of the chapel at the back left, the chapel would have been founded in 1872 by Louise Rasson (*) in memory of her deceased husband, which is of course not possible. Either the chapel was founded in 1872 by Léonce van Crombrugghe and the text on the walls was applied later, or the chapel was built in 1875 (or later) and the date of any repainting was mistaken as to the year of foundation.

The shrine, built in small red bricks , bears the colors of the lord of the castle. The doors with wrought iron wickerwork are painted in red while round white stone columns are positioned in front of the door frame.

Inside we see a polychrome painting and barrel vault , a statue of Saint Anthony above the altar in neo-Romanesque style, a Stations of the Cross of 15 frames on the walls, donated by recollections of Ghent in 1877 and an oak communion rail with offering block. In addition to the beautiful floor and the ornate walls, the furniture has been kept rather sober. On 2 chairs arranged for kneeling we read the names of Mr. and Mme. Leonce van Crombrugghe.

Behind the statue in the choir are several white circles in which the letters SAP (Saint Anthony Padua) are intertwined.

This holy Friar Minor was born in Lisbon in 1195 and died in Padua in 1231. During his short life he became famous as a preacher of the Gospel among the Moors in North Africa. Spaniards and Italians have great veneration for him. Spanish masters such as the 17th century painters Murillo (Seville Cathedral) and Ribera (Madrid) immortalized this saint on canvas. He is depicted as a brother with the Bible in one hand on which the baby Jesus is sitting and in the other hand a white lily, a symbol of purity. He is the patron saint of the earthenware bakers and potters , but this saint is most often invoked for finding lost objects . For that reason, he is perhaps still one of the most popular folk saints in our country to this day.

Willem Vandenameele