In the tower and at the back of the church

 

1.

Right at the back of the church, beneath the organ, you'll find two neo-Gothic statues. They depict saints. When you look at them, you see Saint Joseph on the left. On the right: Saint Anthony.
Before the last restoration of the church interior, almost every column in the church was adorned with a saint's statue. The decision was made to store them safely in the church attic: closer to God.
The 19th-century statues were created by De Boeck and De Windt. They were also responsible for sculpting the current main portal of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp.
Why were these two saints chosen?
Saint Joseph is the patron saint of Jos, the driving force behind all the restoration projects of this church.
And Saint Anthony: "because he pays the rent." Saint Anthony is invoked for the recovery of lost objects. Anyone who can't find their umbrella prays to him: "Saint Anthony, dearest friend, help me find my umbrella." It goes without saying that this prayer can be adapted for any lost item.
Walk a little closer to Saint Anthony. When you look at the pedestal on which the statue was placed, you'll see that the statue barely fits. This pedestal, the only stone art object in the church, survived the iconoclasm of the 16th century.


2.

The church floor contained numerous gravestones belonging to people who had previously been buried there. Often, those buried there were either very wealthy or had served the parish well. Those who were well-liked were buried closest to the altar.
No fewer than 60 graves and gravestones were located in our church.
During restoration work in the 1980s, the original locations of these gravestones were meticulously mapped out, until a group of daring individuals broke into the church one night and used these maps as torches.
Therefore, it was decided not to replace gravestones that were no longer legible. For this reason, a number of gravestones are now no longer located above the graves for which they were intended.
Until 1784, people could still be buried in a church. After that, it was prohibited by the Austrian emperor.
Often, there were more candidates wishing to be buried in the church than there was room. For this reason, graves were sometimes built on top of each other. To create a new grave in the same spot, the church floor had to be opened, which often caused a nuisance odor. Hence the nickname these deceased were given: "rich stinkers."
Pay particular attention to Cornelis Verheyen's gravestone. You can find it near the statue of Saint Anthony. The epitaph is very legible. The arrangements made at his funeral are in writing.


3.

In 1822, a new and expensive alderman's pew was purchased. Until the French Revolution, the aldermen had always sat in the church choir. After the French Revolution, this was no longer the case. With the purchase of the new pew, they were once again able to sit in the church choir.
The pews were originally positioned so that, with their high backs, they extended the choir wall and formed a partition between the rooms containing the Altar of Our Lady and the Altar of the Holy Cross.
In 1834, however, it was decided to place these pews in their current location, beneath the organ. They were prominently in the way of the procession and communion.
The sculptor is unknown.


4. 

The Calvary consists of three statues. In the center: the crucified Christ. On the left: Mary, and on the right: John. They are statues from the 17th century. Mechelen statues.
The sculptor is unknown, but they were signed by the artist with a five-pointed star in the base.

Let's read briefly from the Bible what happened next:
While the soldiers were thus engaged, standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple John, whom he loved, standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!"

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!"

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

These statues used to be outside in the so-called "bone house." As elsewhere, the deceased used to be buried around the church. Hence the word "cemetery."

The cemetery was too small for such a large parish. Moreover, people were reluctant to be buried on the north side of the church due to superstition. Because of this, when new graves were dug, bones of deceased persons who had previously been buried there were often found.
These bones were collected in a small bone house, which this group of statues served as a storage room.
However, their artistic value proved so great that they deserved a safer and more sheltered location inside. The architect responsible for the church's restoration specially designed a wall to display these three statues.