Nos événements

The order of the Discalced Carmelites was present in Brussels from the beginning of the 17th century until the order was dissolved in 1796 (the old monastery and the church stood in the Rue des petits Carmes (English: Little Carmelites street) but both buildings are now demolished). It was only in 1852 that the Discalced Carmelites decided to settle in Brussels again, and to build the current church in the Gulden Vlieslaan (English: the Golden Fleece avenue). The new monastery had a large garden, which was sold in 1962 to build the Porte Louise Gallery. Several years later, the monastery was demolished to make room for the Espace Louise Gallery.

Behind the church and surrounded by the commercial complex, the current monastery was built, smaller than the previous building. The church, which was designed in 1860 by architect Menge in Neo-Gothic Lombard style, was built between 1861 and 1875. The interior was completed by architect P. Cuypers.

On the facade of the church, which was restored in 2010, one can see statues of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa of Ávila (the latter two are patron saints of this church with two chapels dedicated to them at the end of the side aisles of the church).

Inside, the 19th century stained glass windows are representative of Saint Teresa of Ávila, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Saint John of the Cross and four angels (each holding a scroll: the four scriptures refer to Saint Joseph). In the half-light of the building, the stained glass side windows come into their own, made of broken glass and concrete, in 1959 by the Benedictine monks of Fleury in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (France), after drawings by brother Eloi Devaux of the abbey of Pierre-qui-Vire (France). From 1956 to 1962, the interior of the church was radically renovated and the facade was restored.

The crucifix that hangs in the presbytery, presumably from the 16th century, Italian or Spanish made, is situated by the altar where the eucharistic sacrifice of Christ is celebrated. Ths crucifix reminds us that the Son of God is both the victim of the sacrifice as well as the resurrected one who ascends to heaven and opens the way that leads man to God.

Nowadays, Our Lady of Mount Carmel stands on the vault of the apse, as a replacement of the most precious 14th century polychrome wooden statue of the Mother of God with Child Jesus, that is known as the Seat of Wisdom, the statue is kept in the monastery.

The ceramic Stations of the Cross were made in 2011 by the Discalced Carmelite Brother Serafino Melchiorre (Rome). The rood screen has an organ that was built in 1869 by the Ixelles organ builder Merklin-Schütze. The organ was restored in 1934 and in 1962 and was expanded by E.A. Roethinger (Strasbourg) and was finally renovated again in 2000 and expanded by Patrick Colon (Laeken).