Présentation
It was rebuilt between 1928 and 1930, in bricks from Rosendaël, by the architect Georges Dumas in the neo-Gothic style. It is distinguished by a high tower, surmounted by a hard spire which dominates, from its 76 m high, the Flemish plain and the valley of the Lys.
Inside, the building looks like a hall church in the shape of a Latin cross measuring 76 x 29 m, very aerial, with a transept and choir with canted sides.
The sculptor Robert Coin, author of the tympanums of the three portals, also produced the ornamental frieze which runs inside. The furniture dates entirely from the reconstruction. The pulpit and the confessionals are particularly original.
The very homogeneous choir has an exceptional high altar, by J. Le Camus, made of white marble, polychrome wood, gilded bronze and enamels.
Paintings by Father Pruvost occupy part of the blind arches of the lateral vessels.
His consecration or DEDICATION took place on September 12, 1932, the day of the ducasse
('ducasse' comes from 'dedication').
In 1940, the bombings of May 25 and 26 caused serious damage: all the vaults were collapsed. The restoration completed, it is again Cardinal Liénart who comes for a new blessing on April 15, 1951.
From then on, the metal reinforcements which deform, oxidize, the concrete which crumbles, the bad weather ... made it age prematurely:
The bell tower had to be restored in 1988 hence its current whiteness
and, in 2007, rock falls necessitated major safety work.