For the second part of Christmas break, I played a bit of the tourist around Belgium.
I stayed at the American seminary in Leuven, which was quiet and peaceful was a really blessed opportunity.
For New Year’s Eve, I made my first appearance in a big square. (Usually we have a quiet evening at home). Tonight, however, I went to count-down with the rest of the town in a square where they had set up--- you guessed it ---- a giant glistening ball. (it didn’t drop, though, it only spun). I was surprised to find that they actually counted down in English to welcome the New Year!
During the time here, I was able to visit Leuven, Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges. I could see many of the beautiful artworks and cultures in these cities. One thing of great interested was the Begijnhof, which was a sort of community for consecrated women (though not a religious community) who lived together and worked on some trade and lived a life of prayer and penance. They bricked themselves in together in these little complexes and shared life together, praying for the Church and her mission.
Leuven is a quaint medieval university town with one of the oldest universities in Europe.
Leuven was also the home of St. Damien of Molokai, before he departed as a missionary for Hawaii. Now he is buried there.
Antwerp, a diamond capital of the world has a beautiful cathedral (and some other churches as well) which hold many Flemish Masterpieces. It is also the home of Peter Paul Rubens, and so many of his paintings are there.
The Cathedral is the tallest in the Low Countries.
And inside it is decorated with beautiful altarpieces, which were given by medieval guilds in the city.
In Ghent the major attraction is Van Eyck’s Adoration of the Lamb, a vividly colorful and dramatic altarpiece masterpiece which is finally all back together after being split up for centuries.
There were also some nice squares and guild houses.
Brugge is known for its quaint medieval feel, as well as its churches and some more museums housing world-class art.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to visit all the museums in these cities because they were closed either on the day I was there or for the holidays. Because of all the canals, it is sometimes referred to as 'the Venice of the North'.
Bruges also has a relic of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, said to be gathered by Joseph of Arimathea and brought to Bruges after the Crusades.
The sad thing about all of these beautiful cathedrals and gothic churches is that there is a strong feeling when you visit them that they are simply relics from days gone by. Though Belgium is a Catholic country on paper, many people do not practice at all. Often it is only tourists who are inside of these medieval and renaissance masterpieces. This is our goal then, to pray and work for the re-evangelization of the West!
Lastly, I was able to make a small pilgrimage to near the Ardennes region of Belgium to the Shrine at Banneaux, famous because the Blessed Mother appeared there to Marriet Bacon as the Virgin of the Poor in 1933.
It was a delightful place to pray, especially all covered with snow!
It was a wonderful time of holiday, but now I return to Rome for a week of class followed by our exams!
Dot zines!