The Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption

The arrival of the Assumptionist religious in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert coincided with the founding of the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, officially established in 1925. The chapel of Marie-la-Misérable served as the first parish church. Father Verhaegen, an Assumptionist, was its first leader.

Very quickly, the chapel proved too small to accommodate the faithful. A parish church was then built 500 meters away, on the Kapelleveld plateau. The church was consecrated on April 30, 1927, but since it was primarily made of wood, it was soon destroyed by fire.

A new provisional church was then built and inaugurated in 1929. The current church was consecrated in 1955.

Meanwhile, the religious proceeded to build schools linked to the parish: a boys’ school, which was later demolished to make way for the construction of the university campus, and a girls’ school, the building of which still exists and today houses the Dutch-speaking primary school on the other side of the boulevard.

Until 1974, the religious were responsible for the pastoral care of the parish in both languages. At that time, the pastorates began to differentiate. Abbé Jacques De Vreese was then appointed parish priest for the French-speaking pastoral care, while the religious continued to oversee the Dutch-speaking pastoral care until 1979.

During the parish regroupings into pastoral units in 2013, the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption was integrated into the “Chapelle aux Champs” unit, composed of the parishes of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Sainte-Alix, Saint-Paul, and Notre-Dame de Stockel. In 2016, during the re-establishment of the Assumptionist community at the Marie-la-Misérable site, the parish was detached from the pastoral unit to focus on the Alma university campus and the Saint-Luc Clinics.

Today, pastoral responsibility for the parish lies with the Assumptionist community. A religious member also serves as chaplain for the students at the university campus and as leader of the Christian community at the Ecumenical Center.