Located at a nice Italianesque square, the Hendrik Conscience-plein,
the Carolus Borromeus Church is one of the most beautiful buildings in Antwerp.
The church was
designed by the

Jesuits
François d'Aguilon and Pieter Huyssens and built between 1614 and 1621. Lightning
struck the church in 1718, starting a fire which destroyed much of the interior.
It was soon restored by J.P. Van Baurscheit I, but much of the interior, including
the original marble and 39 ceiling paintings by P.P. Rubens were lost.
The Carolus Borromeus Church was sold by the Jesuits in 1733,
and it became a separate parish church in 1803. The building was restored several
times in the 19th and 20th century.
The interior, much of which was originally designed by P.P. Rubens, includes
a monumental pulpit which is located in the middle of the nave. Eight confessional

boxes
are built-in the panellings of the side walls. The baroque church also includes
several sculptures and wood carvings.
The small square at the Carolus Borromeus church became the first pedestrian
zone in Antwerp after a lot of protests against cars in the city center during
the sixties and seventies. At the square, you'll find the statue of the writer
Hendrik Conscience, after whom the square was named.