The Antwerp jesuit church, a revelation.
How a monument follows history...
| GENERAL HISTORY | DATE | HISTORY of the SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH | |
R O M E | Jesus of Nazareth | 01-33 | |
| Freedom of religion for Christians | 313 | ||
M I D D L E
A G E S | Missionary work in the Low Countries | 7th cent | |
| 2nd enlargement of the city with Saint Caitlin gate, rampart, moat | ca. 1200 | ||
| 3rd enlargement of the city: Saint Caitlin rampart razed | 1320 | ||
| Beginning Antwerp ‘Golden Age’ | 1488 | ||
| Birth of Ignatius of Loyola | 1491 | ||
E A R L Y
M O D E R N
E R A | Christopher Columbus in America | 1492 | |
| The theses of Luther | 1517 | ||
| 1529-1531 | Ignatius begging tours in the Low Countries,including Antwerp | ||
| 1539 | Huis van Aken [House of Aachen] rebuilt by Erasmus Schetz | ||
| Pope Paul III’s approval of the Society of Jesus | 1540 | ||
| Council of Trent | 1545-1563 | ||
| Death of Ignatius | 1556 | ||
| 1562 | First Jesuit in Antwerp; rented house in Meir | ||
| Iconoclast Fury in Antwerp | 1566 | ||
| 1574 | Huis van Aken [House of Aachen] bought Chapel built; college opened | ||
| Antwerp Calvinistic reign | 1577-1585 | ||
| May 1578 | Jesuits refuse republican oath and are expelled | ||
| 1578-1585 | Calvinists use the Jesuit Chapel and the ‘colonels’ move into the college | ||
| Calvinistic ‘purging’ of the churches | 1581 | ||
| Antwerp Spanish and Catholic again | 1585 | Jesuits return and reopen their college | |
| 1587 | Statue of Mary is placed in the front of the town hall through the agency of Mary sodalities led by Fr. Costerus | ||
| 1607 | College is moved to Hof van Liere | ||
| Twelve Years Truce between the Northern and Southern Low Countries | 1609-1621 | ||
| 1612 | Jesuit provincialate in Antwerp | ||
| 1614-1615 | Lay out of the building land | ||
| 15/04/1615 | Laying of the foundation stone of the church | ||
| 1616 | Foundation of a ‘professed house’ | ||
| 1615-1621 | Building church and tower | ||
| 1617 | Architect François d’Aguilon dies, Pieter Huyssens is appointed | ||
| 12/09/1621 | Consecration of the church by Bishop J. Malderus | ||
| 1622 | Feast on occasion of canonization of Ignatius and Xavier | ||
| 1622-1623 | Construction of the sodality building | ||
| 1621-1625 | Construction St.-Ignatius’ Chapel and Our Lady’s Chapel | ||
| 1622-1625 | Extension of the ‘professed house’ | ||
| 1625 | Suspension of Huyssens as an architect | ||
| 18/07/1718 | Lightning strike, fire and destruction of the church | ||
| 1718-1719 | Restoration church building | ||
| 06/11/1719 | New consecration of the church | ||
| 1719-1720 | Pulpit, confessionals, wainscoting and organ case (J.P.I van Baurscheit) | ||
| Suppression of the Jesuit Order | 1773 | Professed house and church are closed | |
| 1774 a.f. | Sale of works of art. | ||
| 1779 | church: catechesis hall of Our Lady’s Cathedral | ||
M O D E R N
E R A | French Revolution | 1789 | |
| French annexation of the Southern Low Countries | 1794 | Church: storage of confiscated church property | |
| War tax imposed by the French | 1795 | Sale of church silver and paintings | |
| Nationalisation of the churches | 1797 | Church: Temple of the Law | |
| 1800 | Church: Criminal Court of Justice | ||
| Concordat Pius VII & Napoleon Bonaparte, Antwerp diocese abolished | 1801 | ||
| 1802 | Reopened as parish church in substitution of the damaged Our Lady’s Cathedral | ||
| 1803 | Independent parish Saint Charles Borromeo | ||
| 19th century | Baptismal Chapel, brotherhoods come over | ||
| Battle of Waterloo, Belgium and Holland are one country | 1815 | Church is used as a military hospital | |
| 1817 | King William sells the church to the parishioners | ||
| Independence of Belgium | 1830 | ||
| 1834 | (in their old church) the Jesuits preach a popular mission | ||
| 1839 | Way of the Cross (Edward Du Jardin and H.E. Janssens) | ||
| 1840 | Altar piece Our Lady of the Carmel (Gustaf Wappers) Jesuits buy part of the professED house back | ||
| 1849-1865 | Restoration of the front (F. Berckmans) | ||
| 1860 | Part of the professed house is donated as a vicarage | ||
| 1873 | Gates before the front | ||
| 1922 | Electrification of organ and bells (ringing) | ||
| 1925 | Copy of Our Lady’s Assumption after P.P. Rubens (Altarpiece Our Lady’s Chapel) | ||
| 1939 | Listed as a monument | ||
| 1943 | Nazis-carry off 2 bells Foundation of the Artist’s Medal and the Artist’s Mass (M.-E. Belpaire en B. Roose) | ||
| 1945 | Impact of V-bombs in the area: fragments of glass behind the organ | ||
| Antwerp diocese is re-established | 1961 | ||
| 1981-1987 | Restoration of the front and nave (J.L. Stynen) | ||
| 2009 | Fire disaster is prevented |
