Saint Vincent

In the jubé, on the right, an elegant 14th century polychrome sandstone sculpture offers a rather rare iconographic type of the Virgin breastfeeding the infant Jesus. She is holding a book in her right hand, probably the Bible. We can guess the body under the sheets: the cloth is fluid, it adapts to the shapes, and the belt accentuates this desire for realism. These characteristics are typical of Gothic sculpture.

At the back of the church, to the right of the choir, a sculptural ensemble set into a wall niche displays all the genius of a 15th-century artist: the Entombment. This theme was recurrent at the time of the artist: it was the end of a century punctuated by famines, epidemics and wars. To warm hearts, the Church emphasised Christ's ultimate sacrifice, a symbol of future resurrection and a better life in the afterlife for all... or almost all.

In the small chapel grafted on the northern crosspiece stands a pathetic Christ of Mercy in polychrome stone from the early 16th century, striking for its realism.

Dated 1635 and 1641, but likely begun in the 16th century, the rood screen hides the choir from view. With those in Tournai and ’s-Gravenbrakel, it is one of the few surviving examples in Hainaut. Fully clad in black and red marble, its three low arches under a Renaissance balustrade feature white stone carvings hinting at the Baroque. The iconography reflects the Counter-Reformation, with Church teachers on the front arches and a striking high-relief Resurrection of Christ on the reverse.

The choir stalls (1676) in carved oak have 64 seats over two levels and form one of the most impressive ensembles in Wallonia. They reflect the importance of the Zinnik clergy under the Ancien Régime. “Unity in diversity” guided the makers, who endlessly varied putti, floral wreaths, hybrid masks, and geometric mouldings. In angel-separated niches, the busts of apostles and saints interact through looks and gestures, enhancing the ensemble’s unity.

The high altar (late 17th c.) displays a wealth of colours, reliefs, and forms. In a monumental triple wooden portico painted to imitate marble, canvases, round statues, openwork balustrades, and suspended canopies stand together to form a true “wall of glory.” The central bay opens to a high chapel for Saint Vincent’s relics, whose shrine is lowered by a clever mechanism, as if carried by angels.