Calvary of the Sailors - Dunkirk

This 10-metre-high, 26-ton sculptural work of contemporary steel, designed by artist Nicolas Alquin, pays tribute to sailors, soldiers (especially those who died during the landings of May-June 1940) and wounded workers : dockers (longshoremen) and industrial workers (shipbuilders).

Overlooking the sea, Dunkirk has had a place of remembrance for the maritime world since 2019. It is also a work of "contemporary sacred art".

A contemporary work of art to commemorate the men of the past "In memory of the sailors and soldiers who died at sea. In memory of the workers who were injured in the port and in industry.

“In hope we have all been saved” (St. Paul, Epistle to the Romans 8:24). This is what you can read on the pedestal of the Calvary of the Sailors.

For many years, the Catholic Church has provided a Christian presence in the port of Dunkirk. The Calvary of the Mariners is a continuation of the presence of the Church among the men and women of our time.

Although the Christian symbolism is clearly visible, the cross formed by this sailor , the symbol of Golgotha and the inscription on the base "In hope we have all been saved" (St. Paul), this sign is above all a humanist symbol, that of a Church present to the men and women of our time.

Willem Vandenameele