St. Charles Borromeo Church, Antwerp

The church was inspired by the Church of the Gesu, the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. The church was built next to the Huis van Aecken, bought from the heirs of Erasmus II Schetz. It was the first church in the world to be dedicated to the Jesuit founder, Ignatius Loyola. In 1617–18, Peter Paul Rubens painted two altarpieces. He was also commissioned to paint the ceiling pieces, for which he made the designs while the execution was done mostly by pupils, including Anthony van Dyck. A contract was drawn up in 1620 by Jacobus Tirinus and the paintings were delivered a year later in time for the consecration. ==Gallery==

File:Sebastiaan Vrancx 001.jpg|Painting of the interior by Sebastiaen Vrancx, c. 1630 File:Hieronymus Janssens and Willem von Ehrenberg - Interior of the Saint Carolus-Borromeus Church in Antwerp.jpg|Painting of the interior by Hieronymus Janssens and Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg, c. 1660 File:Anton Gunther Gheringh - Façade of the Jesuit Church, Antwerp.jpg|Painting of the façade by Anton Gunther Ghering, c. 1665 File:Jacobus Balthasar Peeters - Interior of the Jesuit Church in Antwerp1.jpg|Interior of the church showing the state before the fire by Jacob Balthasar Peeters, 1721 File:Jacobus Balthasar Peeters - Interior of the Jesuit Church in Antwerp2.jpg|Interior of the church showing the state before the fire by Jacob Balthasar Peeters, 1721 File:Carolus interior 22.9.2023.jpg|Church interior as it appeared in 2023 File:Carolus altar 22.9.2023.jpg|Church altar, including altarpiece by Rubens File:Carolus pulpit 22.9.2023.jpg|The church's pulpit, carved by Jan Pieter Van Baurscheit the Elder after the 1718 fire File:Carolus angels 22.9.2023.jpg|Wooden carvings of four angels on the left side of the main hall File:Carolus xavier 22.9.2023.jpg|Scenes from the life of St. Francis Xavier ==See also==