Saint Quentin

Quintinus was the son of a Roman senator and was a legionary stationed in Amiens (Samarabriva) in Northern France. He was a Christian and he proclaimed his faith. During the great persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian in 287 Quintinus was captured, tortured, beheaded and thrown in the Somme († October 31). This saint of the people is called on for rheumatism, nerve and heart disease, dropsy, convulsions, growing pains, ulcers, tumours, whooping cough, whitlow on fingers and stomach complaints. Some fragments of murals (15th century) on the sidewalls of the presbytery were discovered during the restoration of the church (1967-1970). They depict, according to the ‘Roll of Saint Quentin’, scenes of the ‘vita’ of the saint.

The baroque pulpit in oak (second half of the 17th century) is decorated with busts of Christ, the four Evangelists and Saint Quentin.

The baptismal font can be found in the baptistery under the tower, behind a wrought iron fence in Louis XV style (1765). It is a late Gothic stone font with inscriptions (1560) and a cover in chased copper with a counterweight (1779)

In the baroque choir stalls (18th century) on the northern side one can see exalted female figures alternated with female herm images that depict the ‘virtues’. However, ‘Love’ and ‘Wisdom’ are missing. They were stolen in September 2002. On the southern side one can see exalted male figures alternated with male herm images that depict the ‘Apostles’ with their attributes. The Apostle ‘Paul’ was also stolen in 2002.

An altar in honour of Our Lady can be found in the northern transept. It is decorated with a 17th century statue of ‘Our Lady of Peace and Sweet Accord?’ made by Artus Quellinus de Jonghe. A baroque altar dedicated to Saint Anna stands in the same transept. It is decorated with the painting “Saint Anna at Threes” by Gasper de Crayer (circa 1618) and depicts the Holy Anna, the Holy Virgin Mary and the child Jesus surround by five saints of the plague: Saint Christopher, Saint Roch, Saint Anthony Abbot, Saint Adrian and Saint Sebastian. The southern side altar is also decorated with a painting by Gaspar de Crayer: “The vision of Saint Teresa of Avila”. The baroque altar in the southern transept is decorated with an 18th century painting by Pieter Jozef Verhaghen called “The Martyrdom of Saint Quentin” and with a statue of Saint Quentin as a Roman soldier (17th century) by Artus Quellinus de Jonghe. A polychrome sculpture group depicts “The Three Holy Sisters”: Berthilia, Eutropia and Genoveva.

The church preserves several paintings, including baroque works by Jan Jozef and Pieter Jozef Verhaghen, and “The Last Supper” by Jan Willems (1521). “The Procession to Basse Wavre” (1653) documents the final plague period. “The Adoration of the Shepherds,” “The Entombment,” and “The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine” are attributed to the Flemish school.