2 July 2026 – 5.00 pm – The Ommegang, Emperor Charles V and the cathedral

To mark the jubilee of our cathedral in Brussels, the Ommegang Society wished to honour it by parading its historical procession past the cathedral on 1 and 3 July 2026.

This year too, between the two processions of the Ommegang, on Thursday 2 July at 5 pm, Charles V and his retinue will make their way in costume to the cathedral, where they will be welcomed by the clergy in full regalia. The 16th-century stained-glass windows will be shown to them and explained by experts, and they will be given a talk on the history of the cathedral’s construction. Period music will accompany their visit.

Featuring a special appearance by Bart Van Loo, herald of the 2026 Ommegang!

This tribute is fitting. Whilst the Ommegang procession celebrates the significance for Brussels and our provinces of the reign of Charles V – whose influence on the concert of nations could not be better emphasised than by recalling that the sun never set on the entirety of his possessions – close ties link him to the cathedral – then a collegiate church – of Saints Michael and Gudula. (It was there that his reign over our provinces was inaugurated on 5 January 1515; it was there that he assumed the title of King of Castile on 14 March 1516; it was there that, with great pomp, on 25 November of the same year, the famous eighteenth chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, during which he finally took the oath of knighthood into the illustrious order into which he had been admitted at birth and of which he had been, since the age of six, following in the footsteps of his father Philip the Fair, the fifth head and sovereign; it was there, too, that he held a grand funeral service for his mother, Joanna of Castile, who died on 4 April 1555.)

The cathedral retains magnificent reminders of these connections. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which now houses the cathedral’s treasury, was built during the reign of Charles V. And the splendid stained-glass windows installed in the transepts and this chapel between 1540 and 1547 glorify the emperor and the members of his family.

The public is invited to join in this tour. We hope to see many of you at the cathedral to experience this unique occasion, which will be followed by a carillon concert performed by the Tintinnabulum.