Basilica of the Holy Blood

Following our tourist map, we ran into the Basilica of the Holy Blood. I think I have read about this place and it is one of Bruges most visited places. As the name implies, this is a sacred place as it contains relics of the blood of Christ. The story is the Joseph of Arimathea, the one who provided Jesus the tomb to lay in after he was crucified. He somehow acquired some of the blood and it was subsequently brought to Bruges by a count of West Flanders. The basilica was built in the 1100s and it is certainly one of the most ornate that I have seen in a while. Then again, it is not really surprising since this is Europe where ornate structures are the norm. It is possible to visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood but it seemed to be closed when we arrived, fortunately for us, it opened in few minutes and we were just part of a small crowd who were let in.

There is a spiral staircase to go in to the basilica which leads to the Chapel of the Holy Blood. This is the ornate chapel and there are two altars, the main one is where most of the pews face. Then the secondary one is arguably the more interesting one. There is a little ceremony which happens here. Someone dressed in what appears to be priestly robes comes out and presents a phial which holds a fragment of cloth which supposedly contains the sample of the blood of Christ. I don’t think it has been scientifically analyzed but if true, it would be a huge religious significance. The faithful stay in front of the altar while a ritual goes on. Then everyone gets a chance to venerate the relic. We were surprised to find out that the one in priestly robes is a woman, which made me wonder if this place was Catholic at all. She wasn’t celebrating Holy Mass so I guess it was okay, since the Catholic Church is still not okay with ordaining women. Although I’m Catholic, I don’t quite agree with this.

The phial is enclosed in a glass cylinder. You can see something in the cylinder but that is all. You pray for a bit and the lady gives you a piece of paper. I thought it was a prayer or a souvenir but it was just a leaflet for the Year of Mercy. I don’t know about the authenticity of the Holy Blood here but I thought it was a nice experience to be able to participate in something like that. There wasn’t much to the chapel and we quickly left the place. I only wish there was a way to verify it. Then again, as they say you only need faith for that.

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