Sedes Sapientiae, Leuven
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.[1] Nicolaas De Bruyne carved the statue in 1442, copying and enlarging an earlier and smaller statue from the 13th century. The polychromy was done by Roelof van Velpen. It has been restored several times: in 1842 by the Goyers workshop and in 1945 by Jos Van Uytvanck. It is located in St Peter's Church in the heart of the city of Leuven, Flanders. It is the symbol of the Catholic University of Leuven, and is depicted in the university's 1909 seal. Nowadays, it serves as the seal of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) and of the KU Leuven.
Veneration of the image
The worship 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 wire. People came from far to worship her. There are traditions that high-ranking figures such as: Isabella of Portugal, wife of the Duke of Burgundy; Philip the Good; Charlemagne; Margaret of York, ... came to visit the statue.
Destruction
The statue was destroyed during the bombing in 1944 during the Second World War. The collapse of the marble altar led to the statue also falling down. Only a year later they started cleaning up the church. Several large pieces of the Sedes Sapientiae were found and so they could glue everything together again. Only three fingers from Baby Jesus, a small piece of the mantle and here and there some pieces 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. A replica of the original statue is still in the church.[2]