Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Zeven Smartenkerk

Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Zeven Smartenkerk is the parish church of Diegem-Lo, a small locality within the municipality of Machelen in Flemish Brabant, sitting close to the Brussels-Capital Region and Brussels Airport in Zaventem. The church stands on Lostraat and serves as the main landmark of this quiet, largely residential corner of Machelen, an area that has long lived in the shadow of the neighboring airport and the industrial zones around Diegem.

When was the church built?

Construction began in the late 1920s, with the cornerstone laid on 5 July 1928. Work progressed quickly for the standards of the time, and the church was consecrated already on 15 September 1929. The formal, solemn dedication, however, only took place several years later, on 3 August 1936, performed by Cardinal Jozef-Ernest Van Roey, then Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. This gap between the practical consecration right after construction and the later ceremonial dedication led by the country's highest church official suggests the parish waited for the right moment to mark the new building's importance to the local community properly.

Who designed it and what was it built from?

The church was designed by architect Juliaan De Ridder in the neo-Romanesque style, a design language that drew on medieval religious architecture while relying on the modern building techniques available in the early twentieth century. The structure combines concrete with local sandstone. Notably, part of the stone did not come from a fresh quarry: it was reused from the demolished wall surrounding the nearby Kasteel Beaulieu castle in Machelen. This kind of material reuse was fairly common in Belgium in the years following the First World War, when builders often recovered stone and other materials from older structures that had been damaged or were being rebuilt.

What stands out in the building's design?

The most distinctive feature of the front façade is a massive tower on the left side, originally topped with a tent-shaped roof. This tower dates from 1936, the same year as the church's formal dedication, suggesting its completion was part of the preparations for that ceremony. Just five years later, in 1941, the tower's roof was lowered; the available sources do not spell out the exact reason, though building and material restrictions during the German occupation of Belgium in that period frequently prompted this kind of alteration to existing structures.

Inside, the church houses sculptures by Paul Stoffels, a Belgian artist active in the first half of the twentieth century. These works form part of the church's artistic furnishing and reflect a pattern common to neo-Romanesque churches of the era: a plain, solid exterior paired with a richer sculptural program inside.

Why is this church worth a visit?

Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Zeven Smartenkerk is not a headline tourist attraction, but it offers a worthwhile stop for anyone interested in interwar religious architecture in Belgium or in the local history of Machelen and the wider Brussels area. It illustrates how smaller parishes in the region approached new church construction between the two world wars, pairing a clear stylistic ambition — neo-Romanesque design, a prominent tower, and figurative sculpture — with a pragmatic approach to building materials.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the church located? On Lostraat in Diegem-Lo, part of the municipality of Machelen in Flemish Brabant, close to Brussels Airport in Zaventem.

Who designed the church? Architect Juliaan De Ridder, working in the neo-Romanesque style.

When was it consecrated? On 15 September 1929, after the cornerstone was laid on 5 July 1928.

Who performed the formal dedication, and when? Cardinal Jozef-Ernest Van Roey, on 3 August 1936.

What materials was it built from? Concrete and sandstone, part of which was reused from the demolished wall of the Kasteel Beaulieu castle in Machelen.