Onbevlekt Hart van Mariakerk (Asse)

Onbevlekt Hart van Mariakerk is a small Roman Catholic church in Krokegem, a village that belongs to the municipality of Asse in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant, standing at Dendermondsesteenweg 48. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the church was built to serve a local community that had previously depended on the more distant parish church in the center of Asse.

When was the church in Krokegem built?

Construction was completed in 1948, and the building was originally erected as a chaplaincy dependent on the Sint-Martinus parish in Asse — meaning it started out administratively tied to the main parish rather than as an independent one. The church was consecrated on Easter Sunday, 18 April 1949. That day carried extra significance beyond the building itself: a statue of Our Lady of Fátima was moved from the Sint-Martinuskerk in Asse to the newly finished church in Krokegem, linking the new place of worship to an already established local tradition of Marian devotion tied to Fátima.

Who designed and built the church?

The construction work was carried out by the contractor Raes from Asse, while the architectural design came from architects Van den Driessche and Petrus Van den Cruyce. The building was constructed using sandstone quarried in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe and Diegem, both near Brussels — a material commonly used in mid-20th-century religious buildings across the region.

What does the church look like architecturally?

The Onbevlekt Hart van Mariakerk is a relatively simple hall church with a gabled roof. Its windows carry neo-Romanesque stylistic touches, giving the structure a calm, traditional appearance despite being built only after the Second World War — a period when many parish churches instead adopted more modern architectural language. The church's modern bell tower (campanile) houses a bell that originally came from the convent of the Zwartzusters (Black Sisters) in Asse, a detail that ties this small parish church to the town's earlier monastic history.

What else is part of the church grounds?

Between 1962 and 1963, a parish hall was added next to the church, giving the local community a dedicated space for gatherings and activities outside of liturgical services. This kind of addition, arriving roughly a decade or more after the church itself, is typical of how postwar parishes expanded their facilities once the community around them had grown established.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the church located? In Krokegem, part of the municipality of Asse in Flemish Brabant, at Dendermondsesteenweg 48.

To whom is the church dedicated? To the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Dutch: Onbevlekt Hart van Maria).

Is it an independent parish? The church was founded as a chaplaincy of the Sint-Martinus parish in Asse, later serving as a distinct pastoral center for the residents of Krokegem.

What architectural style does the building represent? A simple hall church with neo-Romanesque window details, built from sandstone quarried near Brussels.

What is notable about the church's furnishings? The bell in its tower came from the former Zwartzusters convent in Asse, and the church also houses a statue of Our Lady of Fátima, moved there on the day of its consecration.