Church of St. Remigius

The Church of St. Remigius (French: Église Saint-Remi, Dutch: Sint-Remigiuskerk) is a neo-Gothic Catholic church standing on Boulevard du Jubilé in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek), a municipality in the northern part of the Brussels-Capital Region. The building went up at the turn of the 20th century together with a newly created parish, established to serve a rapidly expanding industrial district close to the Tour et Taxis warehouse complex and the then-new Port of Brussels.

When was the church built?

The foundation stone was laid on 20 May 1907. The building was blessed the following year by Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier, then Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. The architect behind the design was Chrétien Veraart.

What architectural style does it follow?

The church was designed in the neo-Gothic style, drawing on the broader Scaldian Gothic tradition and, more specifically, on its Tournai Gothic variant, named after the Belgian city of Tournai. That choice was deliberate: the church's patron saint, Remigius, was the bishop of Reims famous for baptizing Clovis, the first Frankish king to convert to Christianity — and Remigius himself was born in Tournai, which explains the stylistic reference. The building follows a classic Latin-cross floor plan, with an entrance porch and a bell tower projecting outward from the main volume.

What can visitors see inside?

Inside, the church houses a romantic gallery organ without a case, built in 1933 by organ builder Jos Stevens. It also contains two 17th-century statues of apostles, which originally came from the former Sainte-Anne chapel.

Which diocesan structure does the parish belong to?

The parish of St. Remigius is part of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, the largest ecclesiastical structure in Belgium, covering the capital and its surrounding municipalities.

Where exactly is it located?

The church stands on Boulevard du Jubilé (Jubelfeestlaan) in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, north of the city centre. This location is tied directly to the church's origins: the parish was created specifically to serve residents of a new, fast-growing port and industrial district that emerged next to the Tour et Taxis complex and the new Port of Brussels around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Frequently asked questions

Who designed the Church of St. Remigius? The architectural design was the work of Chrétien Veraart, who opted for a neo-Gothic style referencing Tournai Gothic.

Why was the Tournai Gothic style chosen specifically? Because of the church's patron saint, Remigius, bishop of Reims, who was born in Tournai and is known for baptizing Clovis.

When exactly was the church built? The foundation stone was laid on 20 May 1907, and the building was blessed the following year.

Does the church still hold any historic furnishings? Yes — a 1933 organ by Jos Stevens, and two 17th-century apostle statues originally from the Sainte-Anne chapel.

Which diocese does the parish belong to? The Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.