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Flower village Waanrode has a Neo-Gothic church dating back to 1902. After lightning struck in 1877, severely damaging the tower, the roof and the organ, the church was renovated and enlarged. The choir, the sacristy, the burial chapel and part of an aisle remain of the preexisting 16th century Gothic church.

In 1902 the western tower was broken down and rebuilt on the southwestern side. Henceforth the residents of Waanrode would be called ‘Torendraaiers’, which means as much as ‘Tower Turners’.

The tombstone of Robrecht of Schoonhoven (+ 1549) and Anna of Nassau (+1592) can be found at the back wall of the church. At Robrecht’s feet we can see a lion, which refers to his power. He was bailiff (court officer) of Zichem and Diest among other things. At Anna’s feet lies a dog, which refers to loyalty and submission to the husband.

At the right side of the choir we can find the crypt and burial chapel of the noble family d'Arschot-Schoonhoven. They also ordered eight church chairs decorated with the count’s coat of arms.
The count, countess and their children used to witness the liturgies from the burial chapel.

The choir has three stained-glass windows with, from left to right, representations of the saints Albert and Edward, Mary and Joseph, and Paul and Elizabeth. The left and right window were presumably gifts from the De Neeff family, who lived in the village castle from 1867 to 1919. Three saints refer to the patron saints of their children: Albert, Paul and Elizabeth.

Make sure to have a look at the choir stalls (1841) with their four procession lanterns and medallions of the four evangelists, the confessionals (1841) with the symbols of justice (libra), the sacerdotal power (keys of the church) and God’s eye, and the baptismal font (13th century) with four masks on the basin.

The oak pulpit (1707) is decorated with symbols of the four evangelists: Marc (lion), Luke (ox), John (eagle) and Matthew (angel). The sounding board is fitted with a dove as a symbol of the Holy Ghost.

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