CHURCH St. Carolus Borromeus (Antwerp)
Client: Church Council
Architect : Patine Architecten
Date : 2019-2024
St. Charles Borromeo Church is a church in central Antwerp, located on the Hendrik Conscience square. It was built in 1615-1621 as the Jesuit church of Antwerp, which was closed in 1773. It was rededicated in 1779 to Saint Charles Borromeo. The church was formerly known for 39 ceiling pieces by Rubens that were lost in a fire when lightning struck the church on 18 July 1718. In 1617-1618 Rubens painted two altarpieces. He was also commissioned to paint the ceiling pieces, for which he made the designs while the execution was done mostly by pupils, including Anthony van Dyck. In 1718 the vault of the nave, including Rubens' ceiling paintings, was destroyed by fire. Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt the Elder restored the damaged parts according to the original plan, but replaced the original coffers with wide transverse arches. In 1773 the Society of Jesus was suppressed and the building was confiscated. It reopened in 1779, renamed St.-Carolus Borromeuskerk, after Charles Borromeo. Since 1803 the St.-Carolus Borromeuskerk has been in use as a parish church. During the Dutch reign preceding Belgium's independence in 1830 the baroque interior was sobered to make it a Protestant church. A restoration campaign in the 1980s brought back the churches baroque splendor. Besides works by Rubens the interior displays paintings by Gerard Seghers, Daniel Seghers, and Cornelis Schut. On 30 August 2009 fire broke out again, but none of the important artworks were damaged.
