Abbeys and Baseliek Scherpenheuvel

GPS recording of 11 October 2022

The foundation of the abbey is situated in 1134/1135. At that time, Averbode was located right on the border of the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Loon, which would later merge into the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

In the early years, the monastic community lived on agriculture, with the Norbertines receiving help from lay brothers. Originally it was a double monastery. The sisters moved at the beginning of the 13th century to their own monastery (Keizerbos). That community continued to exist until 1796.

In 1154, Count Louis I of Loon donated the Bolderberg extraction, now known as the Bovy domain, to the monastic community. It remained in their possession until the French revolutionaries forfeited the domain and sold it.

The Norbertines of Averbode were engaged in pastoral work from the beginning. Some villages in the vicinity, such as Testelt and Messelbroek, have had a Norbertine of Averbode as a priest since the 12th century. The church and the abbey building were badly damaged by lightning in 1499. During the 16th century, the Norbertines had to find a safe haven in their refuge house of Diest several times and later left Averbode to settle first in Sint-Truiden, then in Diest. In 1604, circumstances allowed it to return.

In 1648, Norbertines completed the construction of a pilgrimage chapel in Kortenbos near Sint-Truiden, which was later elevated to the status of Basilica of Our Lady of Kortenbos. Between 1664 and 1672 a new abbey church in baroque style was built in Averbode. In the abbey church is the altar dedicated to Norbertus (Flemish Masters in Situ)[1].

The French abolished almost all monasteries and abbeys in 1796; The abbey was sold and the monastery partially demolished. The monumental pipe organ by Guillaume Robustelly from 1772 was bought by the Sint-Lambertuskerk in Helmond (The Netherlands), where it can still be admired and listened to.

In 1802, fellow brother Ignatius Carleer bought back the abbey and in 1803 the parish of Averbode was founded, with the abbey church as parish church and a fellow brother as pastor. From 1826 Carleer sold various materials and artefacts from the abbey. After the independence of Belgium, especially in 1834, monastic life in Averbode was officially resumed. That year, Pope Gregory XVI appointed an apostolic visitator for the monastic orders. He made it a condition for re-establishing the abbey that six monastics had to live there, which was the case in Averbode. Among the twelve survivors, Norbertus Dierckx was chosen as superior.

In 1858, the largest romantic church organ in Belgium was inaugurated at that time, built by Hippolyte Loret. This organ is currently unplayable. A smaller second organ, made by Bernard Pels (junior), appeared in 1979. The organ builder Verschueren built a new third organ for the abbey church in 2001-2002.

In 1868 Leopold succeeded Nelo Dierckx as superior. In 1872 he was ordained the first abbot after its re-establishment. In 1877 the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was founded and in 1881 the fraternity purchased a small printing press. In 1885 the fraternity was elevated to arch-brotherhood for the whole of Belgium and in 1886 a magazine appeared, the beginning of the printing and publishing activities in Averbode. In 1887 the abbatiate of Gummarus Crets began, which would last until 1942. Crets was also abbot-general of the Norbertine order from 1922 to 1937. In 1894, a new altar dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was placed in the abbey church. In 1899 a similar Sacred Heart altar was added to the church.

In 1896, at the request of Pope Leo XIII, the first missionaries left Averbode for Brazil. In Pirapora, Brazil, they established a parish and pilgrimage site with an apostolic school in 1897. It served as a minor seminary for several dioceses between 1905 and 1949. Also in Jaguarão a school was founded in 1901, which moved to Jaú in 1915. In 1909, the Norbertines of Averbode took over a school in Petrópolis. Due to the growing number of members, many priests and lay brothers left for these Brazilian missions. In 1908, the first Brazilian candidates entered the abbey of Averbode. In 1903 the abbey sent two confraters to Denmark, where they founded the parish of Vejle on the east coast of Central Jutland. Ludolf Brems himself became Apostolic Vicar for Denmark and Titular Bishop of Roskilde in 1922. In addition to Velje, several other parishes were adopted by Averbode

In 1907 the Norbertines of Averbode founded a cooperative dairy company and in 1911 a bank. They also devoted themselves to printing and publishing activities, a consequence of the establishment of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Averbode. The number of members of the community increased sharply during that period. In 1920, under the impulse of Father Basiel Vanmaele, the Eucharistic Crusade was founded. From 1920 the abbey published a children's magazine, Zonneland. In 1930 the Flemish Films followed, in which the youth could get acquainted with literature, and in 1958 Zonnekind was born.

In 1921 Averbode took over the Norbertine house in Bois-Seigneur-Isaac near Nivelles as a priory. Gerlacus Franken became the first prior and in 1925 the priory was elevated to an abbey. After Franken's resignation in 1942, the priory had only administrators. Two years later, in 1923, the abbey in Berchem founded a new parish, Blessed Sacrament in Berchem-Groenenhoek. In 1931 the independent house of Berchem-Groenendonk was dissolved and the Norbertines of Averbode founded the Sint-Michielscollege in Brasschaat. Gonzaga Taeymans, former prior of Berchem-Groenenhoek, became the first rector of the college and superior of the community. This community was to bring the former St. Michael's Abbey to life. In 1936, Abbot Crets inaugurated St. Mary's Park, a small park that includes a Lourdes grotto.

In the 1930s a new abbey wing was built, but on 29 December 1942 the central abbey complex, except for the abbey church, the chapter house and the sacristy, burned down. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Gisquière had been abbot of Averbode since 1942, after he was appointed abbot-coadjutor in 1940. Under his leadership, the reconstruction took place and pending the completion of the work, some brothers stayed in an empty monastery in Gijzegem until the summer of 1943. On February 13, 1945, the Sint-Michielscollege in Brasschaat was also destroyed by a V1 bomb, killing four Norbertines. In 1949 the construction of a new farm in Averbode was also completed and from 1949 to 1954 the Norbertines built a retreat house in Averbode. In 1942 the community had 230 members, four times more than in 1887, at the beginning of the abbatiate of Gummarus Crets.

The Abbey of Tancrémont in Liège became a priory dependent on Averbode in 1957. In the same year, the abbey of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac also became dependent on Averbode and was no longer an independent house. In 1959 a second Sint-Michielscollege was founded in Schoten.

In 1967 Koenraad Stappers was elected abbot. His abbatiate was largely dominated by the innovations of the Second Vatican Council. From 1969 to 1976 the abbey church was restored. In 1970, the abbeys of Averbode and Postel founded their own educational institution for a joint priestly training. A year later, Grimbergen Abbey also joined the study concentration, which was given the name Agripo (Agripo is the acronym for Averbode, GRImbergen and POstel). Agripo provided a two-year philosophy and a four-year theology course for the priest candidates of the three Norbertine abbeys. The Abbey of Tongerlo later joined the project.

The Sint-Michielscollege in Brasschaat and this in Schoten were transferred to the Catholic Flemish Education in 1984 and 1989 respectively. In 1987 Ulrik Edward Geniets was elected abbot of Averbode.

In 1992, for the first time, a layman was given the position of director of the publishing house. A new building was also designed for this publishing house by bOb Van Reeth. The abbey library was expanded in 1994 with an underground book warehouse. The printing company was sold in 1996 to a private company, which went bankrupt in the meantime. In 1999, an ecological water treatment plant opened opposite the abbey farm. In 2000 the interior restoration of the abbey church started. The altars, including those of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and of the Sacred Heart, were restored, among other things. The restoration of the church was completed in 2002.

In 2006 Jos Wouters became abbot after the unexpected death of abbot Geniets. In 2007 the abbey left the parish of Berchem-Groenenhoek to the diocese of Antwerp and in 2010 the priory of Bois-Seigneur-Isaac was transferred to the Lebanese Maronite Order. In 2014, the abbey started producing beer, bread and cheese. In May 2016, the experience centre 'Het Moment' was opened at the location of the printing company. This includes a shop, a cheese ripening plant, and bakery, a café and a small brewery. In 2018, Marc Fierens became the new abbot of Averbode. Shortly afterwards, former abbot Jos Wouters became general abbot of the Norbertine order.