Sedes Sapientiae, Leuven

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The Sedes Sapientiae (Latin for "Seat of Wisdom", one of the medieval titles of the Virgin), also known as Our Lady of Leuven, is a Medieval wooden statue of the Virgin Mary located at St Peter's Church in Leuven, Belgium.^[1] It was carved in 1442 by Nicolaas De Bruyne as an enlarged copy of an earlier statue from the 13th century. The polychromy was done by Roelof van Velpen. It was restored in 1842 and 1945. A longstanding local landmark, the statue was depicted on the seals of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and UCLouvain.

Veneration of the statue

The veneration and popularity of the Sedes Sapientiae is evident, among other things, from the fact that the magistrate of Leuven regularly intervened in the costs of renewing the mantle made from gold leaf. People came from throughout Europe to venerate her. There are traditions that tell of high-ranking figures such as: Isabella of Portugal, wife of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, and Margaret of York coming to venerate the statue. During exam sessions, it is common for students from the university of Leuven to light candles and place them in front of the statue.

Damage and restoration

The Sedes Sapientiae was severely damaged during the bombing of Leuven in 1944 during World War II. The collapse of the marble altar led to the statue falling down and fragmenting. Several large pieces of the Sedes Sapientiae were found amidst the rubble and were put back together again. Only three fingers from Baby Jesus and a small piece of the mantle had to be remade. The only change to the image was the removal of a hair curl on the child's temples and the replacement of the Gothic consoles on the pillars of the seat with spherical ends.^[2]

References

^ "Leuven: The Saint Peter's Church". trabel.com. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
^ Adlib M Leuven

Universities of Louvain/Leuven

1425–1797

Old University of Leuven	Faculty of Theology Arras College Collegium Trilingue Holy Ghost College Liège College Saint Ivo's College Pope's College Saint Anne's College St Anthony's College Trinity College University Hall Academic staff Alumni

1817–1835

State University of Leuven

1834–1835

Catholic University of Mechlin

1835–1968

Catholic
University
of Louvain

Institutions: American College of the Immaculate Conception
St Anthony's College
Lovanium University
Faculty of Theology
University Hall
Personalities: Pope Gregory XVI
Rector Pierre de Ram
Désiré-Joseph Mercier
Rector Paulin Ladeuze
Georges Lemaître
Nobel prizes: Auguste Beernaert
Dominique Pire
Alumni
Belgian American Educational Foundation
Sedes Sapientiae
Split of the Catholic University of Louvain

Since 1968

UCLouvain

Campuses	Louvain-la-Neuve Brussels Woluwe FUCaM Mons Saint-Louis Brussels CHU Namur UCLouvain Charleroi
Cities	Louvain-la-Neuve Brussels Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Saint-Gilles Mons Tournai Charleroi Namur Dinant Yvoir
Faculties	Louvain School of Management Louvain School of Engineering Marie Haps Faculty of Translation and Interpreting Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning
Research	Higher Institute of Philosophy Cyclotron Research Center Center for Operations Research and Econometrics Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Centre d'Etudes des Crises et Conflits Internationaux Hoover Chair Laboratory for the Analysis of Organisational Communication Systems
Hospitals	Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc CHU UCLouvain Namur
Press	Presses universitaires de Louvain Revue philosophique de Louvain International Philosophical Bibliography Cahiers de l'Institut de Linguistique de Louvain Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
Subsidiary entities	Musée L Aula Magna Louvain-la-Neuve Cyclotron Louvain Coopération Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park Initialis Science Park Académie Louvain
Rectors	Pierre Macq Bernard Coulie Vincent Blondel
Nobel prizes	Christian de Duve Albert Claude
Miscellaneous	Louvain modularity Claroline Orchestre Symphonique des Étudiants de Louvain-la-Neuve 24h vélo de Louvain-la-Neuve Progressive Congolese Students ANLO Oz Ekiga Ion Beam Applications Kot-à-projet
Academic staff Alumni

KU Leuven

Campuses	KULAK
Cities	Leuven Kortrijk Antwerp Ghent Bruges Geel Diepenbeek Aalst Sint-Katelijne-Waver Brussels
Faculties	Institute of Philosophy
Research	Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies Rega Institute for Medical Research Switch Laboratory
Hospitals	UZ Leuven
Press	Leuven University Press Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Subsidiary entities	Arenberg Castle Arenberg Research-Park KU Leuven Association University Hall
Rectors	Pieter De Somer Marc Vervenne Mark Waer Rik Torfs Luc Sels

Other

Evangelical Theological Faculty

Academic libraries in Leuven · Universities in Leuven

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