{"id":35374,"date":"2026-05-09T08:24:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T06:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/?p=35374"},"modified":"2026-05-09T08:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T06:24:08","slug":"pilgrimage-sites-in-belgium-poperinge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/bedevaartplaatsen-in-belgie-poperinge\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrimage sites in Belgium \u2013 Poperinge"},"content":{"rendered":"
History<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of the miraculous statue in the Church of Saint John in Poperinge is based on a legend. A statue of Mary was thrown into the Vleterbeek by a godless person. A bargeman found the image on the bank of the Vleterbeek. The man took the found image to the Saint Bertinus Church. The next day, the statue was no longer in the church and was found again by a bargeman on the bank of the Vleterbeek. This man also brought it ashore and then to the Church of Our Lady. The statue was also not present in this church the following morning. The image of Mary was once again by the Vleterbeek and was found there for the third time. The finder delivered the statue to the Church of Saint John, and it has remained there to this day. From these occurrences, it follows that Mary finds the Church of Saint John a good place to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday 11 March 1479, a miracle occurred that laid the foundation for the annual Maria Procession and the pilgrimage site in the Church of Our Lady of Saint John. The miracle was a stillborn child, exhumed alive. The story recounts that the devout Jaquemyne Vanhove gave birth to a child who died before it could be baptised. She was a devotee of Mary at the Church of Saint John in Poperinge. After the sad event, she went to the church with a pious neighbour, and the two women prayed fervently for the child to be saved. The women made a vow that they would sleep \u201con the hard\u201d (on the floor) for 7 years and would not wear a chemise (shirt) all those years if the child came back to life and could be baptised. Three days later, the two women, along with some acquaintances, went to the grave, which lay in unconsecrated ground. The child had not, after all, been baptised. The neighbour began to dig and pulled the child from the ground. Immediately, the baby showed signs of life; its eyes opened and its lips turned red. Everyone was astonished! The women then took the child to the Church of Saint John and placed it before the altar of Our Lady. There, the baby lay for more than an hour, showing further signs of life by opening its eyes, and the child sweated profusely. A priest baptised the child, who received the name Jacob, officially Jacobus Vanhove. Afterwards, the women took the newly baptised boy to his parental home. There, he again began to sweat profusely, opened his eyes, and stretched out both his little arms. After an hour, the child's complexion changed, and he died. The little Jacob was then buried in consecrated ground, as the boy had been baptised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the 17th century, the miraculous image has a cloak and a large veil over the head of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image of the Coronation of Mary in heaven above the portal of St. John's Church in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The church was restored between 1975 and 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 30 and 31 May 2025, the reliquary of seer Bernadette Soubirous will be in Poperinge. In 1858, Bernadette had 18 apparitions of Mary in Lourdes, in the south of France. The reliquary contains a piece of her leg. The large reliquary is 1 metre high and weighs 60 kilograms. On these two days, films about Bernadette's life and the sanctuary of Lourdes were shown continuously in the winter chapel. Many thousands greeted Bernadette's relic and many prayers were offered to the seer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilgrimage site<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The pilgrimage site concerns the Church of Our Lady of Saint John. By Saint John, Saint John the Baptist is meant. Above the entrance is the image of John the Baptist and above that, the depiction of Mary being crowned in heaven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The miracle image of Our Lady is located in the left aisle of St. John's Church. It is made of heavy oak. The upper part of the effigy, with the face of Mary and the image of her Child, is finished in detail. Mary is carrying the little one on her right arm. Research shows that the effigy was polychromed many years ago and has not been painted since. The statue is about 90 centimetres tall. <\/p>\n\n\n

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the miraculous image that stands in St John's Church and annually participates in the Mary Procession in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The calvary in white stone is a copy of the earlier wooden statues, which will then go into the winter chapel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pilgrimage church is open daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first Sunday of July, the Maria Ommegang commemorates the miraculous event of 1479 with a colourful and lively procession that winds through the streets of the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACCESSIBILITY<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The Church of Our Lady of Saint John is located at Sint-Janskruisstraat 19, 8970 Poperinge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For up-to-date information: www.toerismepoperinge.be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More information about the annual Maria Ommegang can be found at www.mariaommegang.be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

I am going to the southwest of Belgium to gather impressions of \u201cthe miracle of Poperinge\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Church of St. John, I see many statues of Mary, including Mary being taught to read by her mother, Anne.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Maria, who learns to read from her mother Anna, depicted in the St. John's Church in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Several banners are in the church, along with many effigies, including the miraculous statue. This wondrous statue is carried annually in the Marian procession, which makes its way through the centre of this town, and many visitors gaze at this statue of Mary. When I stand before this wondrous statue, it is time for prayer. Praying for people who have a life-threatening illness and wish to live a little longer on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the chancel, I am impressed by the high, colourful stained-glass windows. What a magnificent sight! How this warms the visitors! This church feels so Marian. What a jewel in this city!<\/p>\n\n\n

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large, colourful stained glass windows in St. John's Church in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After visiting St. John's Church, I will go and see other churches in Poperinge, including the Church of Our Lady and St. Bertinus' Church. In both churches, I see beautiful statues of Our Lady. Poperinge has so much beauty to show!<\/p>\n\n\n

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old processional statue in the Church of Our Lady in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Environment<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In Poperinge, there are also other beautiful churches to see.
A processional statue of Mary stands in St. Bertinus Church. Mary and Child are crowned. Mary holds her Child on her left arm and in her other hand, she has a sceptre. Around Mary's head is a wreath of 12 gold-coloured stars. Mary and Child are regally dressed in a royal mantle. The Virgin Mary stands on a globe with a snake around it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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processional statue in St. Bertinus Church in Poperinge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From Kortrijk to Poperinge is 46 km west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving Ypres to arrive in Poperinge means travelling 18 km westwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To leave Blankenberge and get to Poperinge, you need to travel 96 km in a south-westerly direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Veurne to Poperinge means travelling 30 km southwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving French Lille behind to go to Poperinge involves covering 57 km to the northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~~<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GESCHIEDENIS Aan het komst van het mirakelbeeld in de kerk van Sint-Jan te Poperinge ligt een legende ten grondslag. Een beeld van Maria is door een goddeloos persoon in de Vleterbeek gegooid. Een schipper treft de beeltenis aan bij de oever van de Vleterbeek. De man gaat met de gevonden beeltenis naar de Sint-Bertinuskerk. De […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belgie"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","trp-custom-language-flag":""},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

GESCHIEDENIS Aan het komst van het mirakelbeeld in de kerk van Sint-Jan te Poperinge ligt een legende ten grondslag. Een beeld van Maria is door een goddeloos persoon in de Vleterbeek gegooid. Een schipper treft de beeltenis aan bij de oever van de Vleterbeek. De man gaat met de gevonden beeltenis naar de Sint-Bertinuskerk. De volgende dag is het beeld niet meer in de kerk en opnieuw wordt het door een schipper gevonden aan de oever van de Vleterbeek. Ook deze man brengt het aan land en vervolgens naar de Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk. Ook in deze kerk is het beeld de volgende…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Bedevaartplaatsen in Belgi\u00eb<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Jan van Wijk","url":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/author\/jan\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35374"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35433,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35374\/revisions\/35433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariakamer.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}