After the baptism of Clovis in 506, faith slowly began to penetrate this region. Around 830 the spiritual authority was exercised by the abbey of Sint-Truiden and Deurne, together with Schaffen, belonged to the Sint-Trudo parish of Webbekom.
For a long time, however, the municipality was the subject of dispute between the Duke of Brabant, the Count of Loon and the Abbot of Sint-Truiden. Around 1300 the Duke of Brabant finally became the owner of the village. In 1783 the people of Deurne took the initiative to become an independent parish.
They applied to the Abbot of Averbode to build a church of their own, but he refused. Nevertheless, the divorce came in 1803, when Monsignor De Roqueloure, Archbishop of Mechelen, recognized Deurne as an independent parish. But without a pastor. Thirty years later, in 1833, permission was finally given to build a church. On May 4, 1834, the time had come: the first stone was laid and on December 23, 1834, Reverend Sir Fransiscus Melaerts was appointed as the first pastor. On January 26, 1835, the church was inaugurated, with Saint Engelbertus as its patron saint. The first presbytery was built in 1841. Until then, the pastor rented a house.
(info source: kerkfotografie.be)