Saint-Géry

In 1096, Countess Ide of Brabant donated the church of (Vieux)-Genappe and its revenues to the Abbey of Affligem. At the beginning of the 13th century, the town was divided into New Genappe and Old Genappe. At that time, Genappe was under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Liège until 1559, when the new bishopric of Namur was created, to which the majority of the parishes in Walloon Brabant then belonged.

The church of Saint-Géry in Vieux-Genappe was rebuilt between 1769 and 1779 at the expense of the decimator abbey of Affligem. The site chosen was the same as that of the former church, which was smaller but already in a state of disrepair in the 17th century, according to the archives. The architectural structure is in the classical style, with a deep chancel with a polygonal chevet, a three-aisle nave with five bays and a tower. The facade is mostly made up of white rubble on an ashlar base.

The interior features: the main altar with altarpiece (c. 1731); the altar of the Virgin (N) dating from 1660 and coming from the old church; the altar (S) with an altarpiece with a statue of Saint Géry at prayer; four copies of Rubens; limewood statues including a Saint Éloi and a Saint Géry (both around 1700); a polychrome wooden Saint Adèle (18th c.), an oak Virgin and Child (1st half of 16th c.); the gothic fonts of the church and the altarpiece of the church. The rest of the furniture (pulpit, communion bench, panelling, stalls, churchwardens' benches, archive box) is from the 18th century, as is a confessional for the deaf; some beautiful pieces of silverware (17th-19th century) and numerous tombstones, still clearly legible, date from the 17th and 18th centuries and are largely from the old church.