One church after another closing. Rome synods while the church burns.

The Basilica at Cointe has been transformed into a climbing centre, the church at Bouhay into a shelter for women in distress, the chapel of Notre-Dame-en-Chemin at Boncelles into offices, housing is planned for the parish of Saint-Lambert de Soumagne or the former monastery at Chèvremont. There is no shortage of examples of changes in the use of religious sanctuaries in the Liège region, not to mention the hypothesis of a museum at Saint-Pholien in Outremeuse. For Saint-Pierre in Saive or Saint-Antoine-l'Hermite in Queue-du-Bois, discussions are underway. The buildings sometimes belong to congregations, but often they are public property, and desacralisation operations require communal or regional authorisations. The bishopric does not control all the elements to prevent a buyer from doing anything. But it tries to preserve the dignity of these places. This often means sharing with other Christians: the Syriacs at Saint-Simon-des-Oliviers in Herstal, the Greek Orthodox at Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Verviers, the Georgians at the chapel of Calvary in Laveu, and even the evangelists at Oblasts.

There is a heritage to be preserved there, but the heating and maintenance costs of almost empty and often poorly insulated buildings are highly displeasing to the local authorities. The pressure to close is growing. However, in this episode in Liège en Prime, the episcopal vicar of Beukelaer played the role of conciliation, temporisation and negotiation. A real estate policy full of nuances.

Promotion for Belgian radio programme. An interview with the Vicar General in French.

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The Fate of the Basilica that was never a Basilica

The Basilica of Peace Foundation has made its choice among the three projects selected last October for the rehabilitation of the "basilica" of Cointe. It was the project led by the Gehlen Group in association with the company The Wall.

The 'basilica' of Cointe has never actually received this title. It is the church of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Lourdes. It was built on the site of the Inter-Allied Memorial. It was deconsecrated in 2010 and has been listed since 2011. It was waiting for a new use.

Its current owner, the Fondation Basilique de la Paix, had launched a call for projects. It will lead to the implementation of a project called "Basilica Experience". It will offer various activities based on climbing. The Gehlen Group wanted to take advantage of the building's 40-metre high ceiling. In association with the company The Wall, which already has a climbing hall on the Intermills site in Malmedy, it will build what will be the highest climbing hall in Europe. It will be completed by a tree climbing course.

An extension will be added to the current building to accommodate a panoramic restaurant, a local cinema and a multi-purpose area. It is also planned to create bubbles attached to the Basilica's dome for people wishing to spend a night in atypical accommodation.

The choir of the church will be preserved and will host a memorial space. The crypt and sacristy will retain their religious vocation.The promoters of the project hope to start work in mid-2023.

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Church becomes shelter

The project is still very discreet, but it seems very serious: this former church, which belonged to a congregation and not to the diocese, which was sold a quarter of a century ago to a property developer and then put up for sale again three years ago, is going to become a shelter for women in difficulty. The configuration of the premises obviously allows for this kind of transformation: the building, built on the side of a hill, rests on a crypt, in fact a vast "basement", a room with windows where rooms or dormitories can be set up without the height of the nave posing a problem. The presbytery should be rehabilitated into three flats for retired priests.

In addition to the new use, the file reveals other particularities. The new owners are a public utility foundation whose mission is the restoration of movable or immovable religious property. It has existed for about fifteen years. It was launched in the orbit of a Liege company, Ateliers François, a manufacturer of piston compressors, which made its fortune thanks to plastic bottle blowing machines for mineral water factories. It is the world leader in its sector and its machines can be found on all five continents.

The Ateliers François is a family business, the Rolin Jaequemyns and not just any family, since it has already given the country at least two ministers of the interior, several eminent jurists, and some successful industrialists, and even... advisors to the Thai court. The current boss of Ateliers François is in fact a consul of that kingdom. The foundation that he directs seems determined to put its social commitment into practice locally.

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Our Lady of the Wayside becomes an estate agent.

It is a modest place of worship, deconsecrated a long time ago but classified as a monument: this chapel dates from the end of the fifties and for nearly sixty years, it was dedicated to the memory of the victims of road accidents. This is the reason why it was built at this place, along the Condroz road, a particularly deadly road in the past. But because of a lack of faithful and parishioners to maintain it, it was eventually offered for sale and then bought by a property developer. (Cathcon: the modern church makes a habit of forgetting the Poor Souls!)

Despite some fears in the neighbourhood that the building would be demolished outright, the new owners decided to keep it, set up their offices there, and build a three-storey building with a dozen flats at the back of the plot. The public enquiry on this project has just started. A radical change of appearance is announced, since it is planned to cover the façade, currently made of sandstone rubble, with a layer of plaster, for the purpose of thermal insulation from the outside. This will perhaps disorientate the purists of heritage conservation. It is ultimately up to the municipality to approve or reject the permit application.

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Chaudfontaine: the basilica of Chèvremont sold for housing

The basilica sold for 1.1 million will be transformed into flats

Thousands of pilgrims used to come here every year in the 19th century (The pilgrimage dates back . The Basilica of Chèvremont in the commune of Chaudfontaine has just been sold.

Everyone knows this imposing building which dominates the Vesdre valley. Until this Wednesday, it belonged to the Carmelite Fathers. For 3 years, the last fathers had taken the decision to sell this 2 hectare site. This has now been done, but the site will become "civil" again. It is a property developer who has bought it.

About seven flats

The Brussels-based consortium "Colline de Chèvremont" paid 1.145 million euros to acquire the basilica, but also the cloister, the convent and the small houses around it. It was the charm and the exceptional location that guided the developer's choice: "Each flat will be unique because it will fit into the exterior structure that will be preserved. The verticality that can be seen from below will be preserved," explains Carlos De Meester.

The complex will be transformed into around seven flats.

Preserving the site

Although he does not hide a certain sadness at not having been able to find a buyer closer to the church, such as a religious community, the Bishop of Liège, Monsignor Delville, is nonetheless amply satisfied: "The site requires major investments. This is a quality real estate project. The exterior structure has been preserved, and is classified as a historical heritage site, and the architects have already planned for the monumental interior structures, such as the large refectory, to be used for a variety of purposes so that the character of the building is respected and used by a maximum number of people.

SRL "Colline de Chèvremont" hopes to submit the permit in 2021 in order to obtain it in 2022 and complete the work by 2024.

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Church may become a Maigret Museum

On the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Inspector Maigret's writer, the idea of dedicating a museum to him in Liège is resurfacing. This is not the first attempt of its kind; over-sized or under-funded, they have all failed so far.

The plan that is beginning to take shape seems to be based on a combination of competences in the hands of the city's first alderman. Among other things, she is responsible for heritage and church services. The bishopric wanted to 'get rid of' several buildings". The church of St. Phoenician in Outremeuse could be deconsecrated and house a tour dedicated to the most widely read Belgian author, whose books have a circulation of over half a billion copies. The project remains conditional: the state of health of the building needs to be checked in order to budget for the necessary improvements. But according to our information, Christine Defraigne should, in the course of September, meet the writer's son, who manages the intellectual property rights of the work.

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