Eglise Notre Dame de la Sarte - Huy

In 1621, a poor woman from the city, Anne Hardi, collected dead wood on the Mont du Sart . In a small chapel stood a statue of the Virgin and Child (look here)..

Anne took the statue of the Virgin and placed it on her bundle. But to her great surprise, she could not lift her burden , even though she had carried it so far without difficulty. The help of two passers-by did not seem to help, Anne Hardi thought of the statue, took it off the bundle and, to everyone's surprise, placed her harvest of wood on her shoulders again without difficulty. These strange events immediately attracted crowds of pilgrims to Mont du Sart. The chapel was rebuilt and as early as 1624 consideration had to be given to building a larger church. A single-nave Gothic church was built between 1624 and 1628 . A symbolic bundle of wood can still be found in the church.

In 1656 the country was threatened by famine due to persistent drought. The local magistrate and clergy organized the usual public supplications , but this time the statue of Notre-Dame de la Sarte was solemnly lowered into the city . According to tradition, she had barely returned to La Sarte when the much-desired rain began to fall abundantly and saved the population from the dreaded plague.
However, it was not until 1663 that the miraculous statue was exhibited in the collegiate church every seven years on the eve of August 15 and carried in a procession through the streets of the city the next day.

The high tower, which carries the statue of Mary for the entire region to see, dates from 1928.

Willem Vandenameele