At the end of 2023, the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows (Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Smartenkerk) in Wavre-Sainte-Catherine was officially inaugurated as a school building. The Brussels-based firm Madam Architectuur was responsible for the conversion of the sombre church, where the Passion of Christ was still palpable.
Today, the building houses the classrooms of Hagelstein College. They are bathed in light and echo with the shouts, whispers, laughter and discussions of teenagers eager to spread their wings, far from the all-seeing eye.

The municipality of Wavre-Sainte-Catherine is located in Flanders, south of Mechelen. The Berlaarbaan, where Hagelstein College is located, is lined with fields and pastures. This area is called ‘Rivierenland’: it is the place in Flanders where the most rivers converge. It is a very marshy region with unique flora and fauna. In the Gasthuisbossen woods that border the road, you can sometimes see deer, fallow deer and even birds of prey. This small municipality has a rich cultural past. The school stands on the site of the former Hagelstein Castle, a holiday resort for an aristocratic family in the 16th century. During the French Revolution, priests took refuge there to celebrate Mass in secret; afterwards, the castle and its outbuildings fell into ruin. In 1927, the buildings were bought by the Passionist Fathers ¹ who called on the architect Van den Bulcke to build a small monastery with a boarding school for boys. The massive brick architecture bends under the weight of sadness and penance that was at the heart of the Passionists’ faith. 1 The official name of their order is the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The commemoration of the Passion is the driving force behind their commitment to people who are suffering, victims of illness, oppression or violence.