Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed

In plain English, Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed means “Chapel of the Precious Blood.” Built in the 12th century, this church consists of 2 chapels; the lower chapel has retained its original structure and the upper chapel is where the Relic of the Holy Blood located. We learned that 2 drops of the blood of Jesus Christ was brought to Brugge in 1149 after the Crusade.

We went upstairs to the chapel looking for the Holy relic. We saw people lining up toward an altar, so we just followed where the crowd was. Waiting for a couple of minutes, we went up to the altar and saw this crystal phial containing the blood of Christ. the phial is protected by another container. Without knowing much, we both placed our hands on the glass container, like others did, and stood there for seconds and the nun gave us a very small pamphlet when we started heading down from the altar.

My tears were in my eyes and I was touched. This is what the little pamphlet reads:

“Lord,
You are the source of all love.
You showed it through Jesus who shed his blood for us.
We ask You:
Open our hearts, make them as generous as Yours.
Give us a heart eager to serve others.
Let us be the expression of Your smile on the world.
Amen.”

As soon as we read the prayer from the pamphlet, there’s an announcement in English saying that everyone can go up to the altar and pray over the Holy Blood. Spencer saw me sitting down and no sign of moving, he asked me if I wanted to go up to the altar again. I hesitated for a few seconds, because we were just there a minute or two ago and I felt that I might be too greedy doing that twice within minutes. But once again, both of us stood up and were heading to the altar. This time, we both took our time and said a long prayer over the Holy Blood, and I just couldn’t stop my tears.

I didn't know why, but my tears simply wouldn't stop. While I am writing this blog remembering that day in the church, I realize that it was such a peaceful and intimate moment, and I felt I was that close to God, physically. Because of me, we ended up spending most of our time in this little church during our Brugge trip. Sorry, Spencer! As I am writing this blog, my tears are in my eyes again...(I didn't get to take any photos of the phial... The photo is the upper chapel view.)