Archduchess Isabella of Austria made a vow shortly before her death in 1633. She, who governed the Southern Netherlands after receiving Flanders as a dowry, wished to create harmony with the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament (which is symmetrically located on the other side of the Cathedral, near the stained glass window of Charles V).
Leopold Wilhelm, Governor of the Netherlands, ordered these works and laid the first stone in 1649. The plans for this chapel, partially Renaissance in style, are attributed to Jérôme Duquesnoy the Younger.
The pelican altar, a work by the sculptor Simon Lewi (1924-2020), is composed of a glass plate resting on two copper pelicans. The pelican, which nourishes its young with its own blood, symbolizes Christ offered in sacrifice on the cross for the salvation of mankind. The bird thus evokes the Eucharist.
The lectern in the shape of an eagle with outstretched wings recalls Saint John the Evangelist. It is by the same sculptor.
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