Contact
Contact us
The Cathedral Team
Our priests
Dean Benoît Lobet
+32 2 229 24 90 – lobetbenoit@gmail.com
Father Jean-Luc Maroy
0494 11 63 85 – jl.maroy@gmail.com
Father Elie Khoueiry
0488 91 75 94 – khoueiryelie@outlook.com
Cathedral Manager
rue du Bois Sauvage 15 – 1000 Brussels
Monday to Friday (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Sabine Bourgeois
02 229 24 95 – aop.bruxellescentre@gmail.com
Cathedral Manager
rue du Bois Sauvage 15 – 1000 Brussels
Monday to Friday (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Isabelle Pihart
02 229 24 90 – cathedralesecretariat@gmail.com
Music directors
Our organists :
Bart Jacobs bart.jacobs@belgacom.net & Xavier Deprez arsincathedrali@gmail.com
Xavier Deprez & Bart Jacobs : Festive Masses and Summer Concerts
Xavier Deprez & Gunther Vandeven : Musical Sundays and Voces Desuper & cantor-animators messesfestives@gmail.com
Erik Van Nevel : Ensemble Currende : currende@telenet.be – www.currende.be
Culture and Tourism non-profit organization
The non-profit organization “Culture and Tourism Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula,” also known as ARS IN CATHEDRALI, is headquartered at Rue du Bois Sauvage, 15, in Brussels. The organization aims to ensure the artistic and cultural promotion of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula while respecting its religious and liturgical vocation. It achieves this goal by organizing and promoting concerts, conferences, exhibitions, shows, and other cultural or artistic events, as well as by publishing and distributing books and brochures.
The calendar of activities is as follows :
- Christmas Concert a few days after Christmas.
- Lenten Conferences.
- Holy Week Concert on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
- Spring Concerts.
- Organ concerts featuring music by Johann Sebastian Bach “Bach Ad Meridiem” on Saturdays in June at noon (45 minutes).
- Summer concerts: five organ and vocal/instrumental concerts in July and August.
- Saint Michael’s Concert, featuring the singers Voces Desuper, Currende, and the two titular organists. It takes place on the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October.
Culture and Tourism also organizes religious art exhibitions.
Association of Parish Works
The AOP (Association of Parish Works) is a non-profit organization with the following main missions :
- The proclamation of the Gospel, which is expressed through catechesis for all age groups, preparation for the sacraments, spiritual and theological documentation, conferences, spiritual guidance.
- Prayer initiatives – outside of sacramental and liturgical celebrations – such as prayer meetings, organization of pilgrimages, retreats, and all recognized forms of devotion.
- assistance to disadvantaged people, numerous in the city centre, by providing them with housing at prices below market rates, offering them a nourishing meal every day, and supporting various grassroots organizations such as social real estate agencies or places of listening and social assistance.
- organization of and participation in various cultural activities: exhibitions (particularly the Christmas crib exhibition), certain concerts.
Governing Body
The governing body is a public institution responsible for managing the material interests of the Cathedral. It is governed by the ordinance of the Brussels-Capital Region dated December 10, 2021. It is chaired by Mrs. Gaëtane Demeure.
The Friends of the Cathedral Fund
The Friends of the Cathedral Fund of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula aims to “promote and preserve the beauty of the Cathedral and its heritage.“
The Cathedral building, the artworks it houses, and its incredible Treasury (displayed in a specially designed museum) require constant attention. This has led a group of Cathedral parishioners to establish the Friends of the Cathedral Fund within the King Baudouin Foundation in 2001. This followed the exhibition of 16th-century Brussels tapestries from the Palacio Real in Madrid, inaugurated in the presence of the Belgian and Spanish sovereigns, which attracted a record number of visitors.
Achievements of the Fund
• Since its foundation, the Friends of the Cathedral Fund has already completed numerous projects, too many to list here, except for the most important ones. In 2003-2004, the Fund participated in the renovation of the baptistery (the only place in the Cathedral that still contains ceiling paintings). Thanks to the Fund, the monumental triptych of the Crucifixion by Michel Coxie, the Raphaël of Flanders, was restored in 2005-2007 and thus preserved for future generations. The Fund also enabled the acquisition of display cases to present the discoveries made in the tomb of Ferdinand of Austria.
• Through the King Baudouin Foundation, the Friends of the Cathedral Fund received a beautiful painting in 2015. The Fund is very grateful to the donor of this remarkable painting, which now enriches the Cathedral’s Treasury. It is a 16th-century copy of the Deposition from the Cross based on the composition by the painter Hugo Van der Goes, who stayed at the Rouge-Cloître abbey in Auderghem. Thanks to the restoration department of the Institut de La Cambre, the work has been thoroughly studied, cleaned, and restored. Thanks go to the specialists of this Institute for taking such care in restoring this work to its former glory and inspiring the admiration of the Cathedral’s visitors.
• The stained glass window of the Last Judgment, which you can admire at the back of the central nave above the main portal, is a monumental work created in the 16th century that now requires significant restoration. Today, the IRPA (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage) has committed to restoring this stained glass window; the Friends of the Cathedral Fund has therefore committed to financing the lighting, and thus the enhancement of this window.
• Interior lighting has been carefully installed on the Pulpit of Truth, the altar at the back of the choir, and in the side chapels of the side aisles and the ambulatory. You can admire, for example, the intimacy given by the lighting to the recumbent statue located before the right/south end of the ambulatory.
• In the Notre-Dame chapel, four large landscape paintings on the theme of the Flight into Egypt from the 17th century were restored in 2024 by the IRPA, thanks to the funding of the Friends of the Cathedral Fund, which also ensured that these four paintings were perfectly illuminated. This is a great achievement that deserves a visit during your passage through our beautiful Cathedral.
• In the south ambulatory, the statue of the Virgin known as the Ara Caeli, an alabaster work by the sculptor Arthus Quellin the Elder, dating back to 1645, was restored in 2024.
Collaborate in this collective mission, an ongoing task.
An invaluable historical heritage, the Cathedral pays tribute to all those who have worked there over the centuries. Together, it is our duty to continue their work.
The Cathedral needs patrons and friends to maintain its heritage and, in particular, to finance what is not covered by public authorities.
You can contribute to this work by making a donation to the King Baudouin Foundation, Account number BE10 0000 0000 0404 with the structured communication 182/0240/00080.
As from 40 euros, a tax certificate will be sent to you at the beginning of the following year.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE OF THE FRIENDS OF THE CATHEDRAL FUND
Vincent Mertens de Wilmars, President
Mr. Yvan Cardon de Lichtbuer, honorary member
Mr.Philippe Marchandise
Mr.Michel Peterbroeck
Mr.Fabrice van de Putte
Mr.Marc Thiebaut
Mr.Frédéric Veldekens
Annual Concert for the Benefit of the Friends of the Cathedral Fund
Every year, the Friends of the Cathedral Fund organizes a high-quality concert, the proceeds of which allow the Fund to continue its activities.
Concert Organizing Committee
Mrs. Isabelle Dhanis
Mrs. Myriam Gheeland de Merxem
Mr. Humbert Lagasse de Locht
Mrs. Chantal Moreau de Bellaing
Mr. Fabrice van de Putte
Mr. Marc Thiebaut
Church and Tourism Brussels
For many years, the organization Church and Tourism Brussels, composed of experienced volunteer guides, has been offering free guided tours of Brussels churches. These tours are open to everyone, regardless of origin, language or religion. Its goal is to introduce as many people as possible to the rich religious heritage of the Belgian capital.
For any information regarding guided tours of the Cathedral, you can contact the non-profit organization Church and Tourism Brussels.
Tintinnabulum
The non-profit organization Tintinnabulum manages the bells and carillon of the cathedral, which animate the religious and civil life of the building. They are the “voice” of the cathedral.
