This 11th century Catholic church is dedicated to two saints known for their power over the devil, and while originally built in the Romanesque style, was later given Gothic features and has gone under recent, tasteful renovations in the last century. It has been the site of a 1995 visit by Pope John Paul II and any number of weddings of Belgian princes.
10am Mass is an event. I wandered in expecting the cavernous echoes of a sparsely attended European sacramental rite, but was gloriously surprised. The pews were cordoned off so that worshippers would not be distracted by meandering tourists. Fourteen men walked up the central aisle, ascended the alter and arranged themselves in the back, and initiated the comforting chant of the Latin Gregorian Mass. The massive elevated organ pumped into life, incense wafted to the stone rafters high above, and the Mass was said in both French and Dutch.
Say what you will about Catholic pomp, but the experience of a high Mass for me exemplifies man’s yearning for the Divine, and the gracious response of a loving God. I left the cathedral feeling peaceful and spent the rest of the morning walking the streets of this beautiful medieval city.
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