The chapel was built in the 18th century above a spring and is located at the foot of the O.L.V.-Terhemelopneming church of Vertrijk, in the Snoekengracht nature reserve. The 14/15th century (?) statue of Saint Lucia, worshipped during the plague, is now located in the church.

Translated by Google •

December 29, 2025

A Saint Lucy spring—"a beempt, called the slaughter mill near Saint Lucyenborne"—is first mentioned in a property register from 1514. Around 1500, Jan van der Ee had built a spring into it and hung a statue of Saint Lucy on a tree stump. This is one of the numerous miraculous springs found in the sandy loam and (especially) loam regions, and on which some form of devotion to saints has developed, likely dating back to early Christian spring veneration.

In 1796, Pastor Jozef Karel Vanderborght, sacristan Cornelius Naets, and churchwarden-treasurer Johannes Van der Vorst decided to build the current chapel above the "spring well." The initials on the right side of the facade are believed to refer to the latter. Until 1920 (1940?), a piece of tree trunk stood to the left of the chapel as a sacrificial stump. In 1971, the 15th-century, polychrome statue of Saint Lucy was replaced on the Saint Lucy altar in the church for safety reasons.

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Vertrijk once had a significant devotion to Saint Lucy, who was invoked there for eye, throat, and blood ailments. Her feast day on December 13th, midwinter according to the Julian calendar, attracted a large annual influx of pilgrims from the surrounding area. Devotion to Saint Lucy in Vertrijk dates back at least to the 14th century, as a Saint Lucy altar with a statue of the saint was already mentioned in 1370. The origin of this devotion is likely related to the various plague epidemics that ravaged the region between 1315 and 1362.

Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Saint Lucia Chapel, id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/209094

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Elevation 100 m

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Friday 16 January

13°C

6°C

0 %

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Max wind speed: 10.0 km/h

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Location: Boutersem, Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgium

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