The Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges

After two days in the more modern canal city of Amsterdam we retired Saturday and Sunday to the slow paced canal city of Bruges with architecture reminiscent of, even often still intact from, it's glory days during medieval Europe. We grabbed a map geared towards backpackers and hostel travelers, though even these attractions were still relatively “grown up” museums etc. there was literally a museum for everything, yes we were guilty of visiting the Chocolate Museum to see the White Chocolate Madonna and the Barack Obama. We drew the line at the lamp museum. While the main town square the Markt was an amazing space I found the adjacent Burg square my favorite primarily because of the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek or Basilica of the Holy Blood.

While the majority of Belgians are considered Catholic they are mainly non practicing making it an increasingly cultural label. It's cultural and national importance is still seen through the pride displayed during the annual Precession of the Blood that draws 50,000 pilgrims to witness the remembrance of the arrival of the relic in the early 12^th century. The date of the appearance of the relic from the Holy land to Bruges falters between the legendary date of of 1150 AD and the more exact suspected date of around 1256 when it is first introduced to the historical record. While its history maybe contested there is certainly no question of the believers revere of the object. We found the churches Gothic architecture, with its detailed glass windows and ornate statues so beautiful and the aura so catching that we decided to go back Sunday morning for Mass followed by the veneration of the blood. For more information on the relic this is a helpful site:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/belgium/bruges-basilica-of-holy-blood.htm

Upon taking our seats in the back of the Basilica it became clear our group was a generation, or two, separated from the rest of the patrons. Although the Mass was held in Dutch they made an effort to hand out prayer cards that included five different languages so I could attempt to follow along. Even though I could not fully understand the mass I could comprehend the service because of the symbols, surprisingly even the cadence of the Apostles' Creed was in step with the English version. One man in the row behind us continued to pray in his native language and followed his home practices even when they diverged from the group, such as kneeling and praying with his hands up and open during the Our Father, which I found a prime example of carrying your traditions and continuing them through your own practices.

However you could also see examples of their culture and demographic reflected in the service. I had never seen adult female alter servers, I could not decide if this was out of respect or necessity that they were serving. It was an worthwhile experience just to exchange the sign of peace because all though we were not speaking the same language we could all understand the expression. The most enchanting part of the Mass was the iridescent shimmer of the incense smoke colored purple from the stained glass. During the veneration most people elected to line up and kiss the relic, reaffirming their belief and continuing this connection to each other and the 'imagined community', while reaffirming the place of the Roman Catholic Religion in Bruges. Turns out the orb pulpit was in fact meant to symbolize spreading the word to the world, off a famous quote, our guess was incorporating Belgian chocolate into their design, so I guess not all symbols are as easy to spot as expected.