The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament
and of the Sweet Name of Jesus

In the great Gothic churches the southern side, pre-eminently the sunny side, is the most appropriate side to accommodate the devotions of Jesus’ radiant love. In the Middle Ages these were the devotions of the Holy Cross or those of the Sweet Name of Jesus. The 15th century was the time of the rise of the worship of the Holy Sacrament. This refers more concretely to the host bread which is consecrated during Holy Mass into the body of Jesus. This palpable token of Jesus’ presence is the most prominent of the seven sacraments and is founded on the Catholic doctrine of the transubstantiation. In the 19th century the devotion of the Holy Heart prevailed. This shift in devotion occurred among the Antwerp Dominicans in one and the same fraternity, namely that of the ‘Sweet Name and the Holy Sacrament’.