Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Sepulchre church of Saint-Omer, mentioned since 1123, was rebuilt as a hallekerque (church-halle) from the 13th century. Its nave dates from the first half of this century, its 14th century tower, and its brick side chapels, added to the 15th century, housed the altars of local corporations, such as that of the shoemakers, whose altarpiece (saints Crepin and Crepinian) is today at the Sandelin Museum. Consecrated in 1387 by the bishop of Thérouanne, she owes her name to the Crusaders of the first Crusade (1096), including Godefroy of Saint-Omer, co-founder of the Temple Order and linked to the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. A legend reports that a stone from this tomb would have been embedded in a chapel in the 14th century.

At the Revolution, the church briefly became the cathedral of Saint-Omer, then a Temple of Reason (1794) before being returned to Catholic worship – first in France after that period. In the 19th century, it underwent neo-Gothic restorations: reconstruction of the arrow (52 m in 1891), installation of a Van Peteghem organ (1820–22), and installation of stained glass windows by the Lusson workshops (circa 1860), some of which, designed by Louis-Charles Steinheil, evoke the first crusade and the family of Saint-Omer. The wooden gate, carved in the 18th century, could come from Saint Bertin Abbey.

Closed since the 1980s for old age, the church preserves exceptional furniture classified as a historical monument: stalls, historiated windows (including a Way of the Cross and scenes of Christ's life), bas-reliefs, and funeral monuments. Its stained glass windows also celebrate the Order of the Temple and the local crusaders. The building, a communal property since its classification in 1982, illustrates the links between Saint-Omer, the Crusades, and the medieval Flemish handicrafts.

External links