The beautiful Gothic Cathedral in Brussels was originally named after a Flemish girl called Gudule who lived in the 6th century.
One dark night she was walking through the streets of Brussels when a gust of wind blew out her candle. The terrified girl fell to her knees and prayed. Her prayer was answered; the candle started burning again. This minor miracle gave Brussels its only saint, who was buried in a little chapel on the slopes above the old town.
The Cathedral was begun in the early 13th century on the site of St Gudule’s chapel. It was originally the parish church of St Gudule, but the authorities later added the patron saint of Brussels, so it became St Michel et St Gudule.
Nothing remains of the girl who walked the streets of Brussels apart from a statue beside the altar. It shows Gudule holding a lantern in one hand as an angel replaces her extinguished candle, while in the other hand, she holds an open book with a model of the cathedral on top.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
