Church of St Peter and St Paul

This beautiful, harmonious baroque church was originally dedicated by the Jesuits to St Ignatius and St Francis Xavier. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order, the parish of St Peter and St Paul asked if they might make the Jesuit church their parish church because their own church had fallen into a state of disrepair. The transfer took place, and since then the official name of the church has been ‘St Peter and St Paul on a visitation upon St Ignatius and St Francis Xavier’. It is abbreviated to the Church of St Peter and St Paul, or in Dutch Sint-Pieter-en-Paulkerk.

The interior is richly decorated. The pulpit symbolises the missionary work carried out by St Francis Xavier in the four corners of the world. At the time (end of the sixteenth century), Oceania was not yet identified as ‘the fifth continent’. Note how Europe is represented, with the horn of plenty and wisdom in the form of a book. The fourteen confessional boxes built into the wall are another fine example of Mechelen woodcarving.

Legend has it that the church had an abundance of confessional boxes because of its location near the Veemarkt (Cattle Market) where lying and cheating were rife. However, the real reason was that the Church of St Peter and St Paul was originally a pilgrimage church containing numerous relics. You were not allowed to touch them unless you were free from sin. Hence the large number of confessional boxes.