Saint Catherine

The statue of Saint Catherine, made in the late 16th century and attributed to Mechelen sculptor Thomas Hazart, depicts the Roman era martyr. Legend says she refused to abandon her Christian faith and was condemned to die on a spinning wheel, which miraculously broke. She was then beheaded, and milk flowed from the wound, said to have driven the plague from the city.

Remarkable in the St Joseph's Chapel with its stone vault is the baroque altar in white and black marble from ca. 1650 - pay particular attention to the two twisted columns - is by Lucas Faydherbe (1617-1697). It is the oldest altar we know of his. The original painting by Jacob Jordaens has been replaced by a 19th-century “Flight to Egypt” by Jos Paelinckx (1781-1839). Joseph plays a central role in this story, one of the few times in the gospel.

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The pulpit (1774) is a work by the Malinois Pieter Valckx (1734-1783), based on a design by Theodoor Verhaegen (1700-1759). The Holy Family seeks shelter under a thatched roof, in the ruins of a temple. Jesus sits on the globe between Joseph and Mary, holding a cross in his arms. Angels and clouds hover between the tree branches that form the sounding board. They were angels who broadcast the Good News at Christ's birth. Also on the pulpit the Good News was proclaimed.

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The church houses confessionals from the late 17th century by Nicolaas Van der Veken (1637–1709), a pupil of Lucas Faydherbe. Their classical symbolism focuses on sin and redemption. The sculptures were reused in 1817. Van der Veken also created the 1659 wooden Holy Family: finely finished polychrome heads and hands contrast with the rougher bodies, meant to be dressed.

In 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared to 14 year old Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes. Soon after, many replica caves were built in Flanders, outdoors and in churches. Marian devotion grew, reinforced by the 1854 dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Such popular devotion, often among the poor and children, was used by the Church against modern unbelief. This cave in the Katelijnekerk was consecrated on 11 February 1937.

Like Saint Joseph, Anthony has a chapel in the church, built in 1834 and standing symmetrically across the street. Its altar and stained glass windows honor the saint. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231), a Franciscan of Francis of Assisi’s time, inspired many stories: a count saw him holding a radiant child, and a thief returned his stolen Bible after prayer. This is why he is invoked to find lost objects.