Cathedral of light

For the most part, Europeans like to think of themselves as peaceful and civilized, even though the continent has been shaken by countless conflicts not only throughout its long history but also in recent years. These include the war in the former Yugoslavia in the first half of the 1990s and the recent invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite this, it is true that after the Second World War, European nations managed to transform their continent into a place where war is considered an exception, as opposed to an inevitable part of history and people’s experience.

Many factors contributed to this quite remarkable result because nothing concerning humans happens entirely by chance. One of them was the creation of the European Union, established at the end of a long integration process when the Maastricht Treaty came into force in 1993. Two years later, in 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined it, bringing its membership to 15 countries. After that, the EU remained unchanged for several years, with Eastern European countries completing their accession process only in 2004.

This brings us to the little town of Viroinval, close to the French border, which in 1995 was identified by the Geographical Institute of Paris as the geographical heart of the EU-15. To promote itself and celebrate its unexpected role as the symbol of a new, united, and peaceful Europe, the municipality launched a call for projects and eventually assigned to Belgian artist Bernard Tirtiaux the task of building what is today a rather forgotten monument: the Cathedral of Light.

Located very close to the village of Oignies-en-Thiérache, just south of Viroinval, the Cathedral is not what one might expect. Instead of a church consecrated to a religion, it is a symbol of hope and a representation of harmony, which the artist himself described as a “cathedral seed”. It is not, in other words, an imposing and austere building, but rather a delicate reminder of the dream that a united Europe was, precious like the promise of peace that it brought with it. Whether it will be kept or not, it will be up to all European citizens of today and tomorrow.

The work, realized in pale blue glass that sparkles in the sunlight (whenever Belgian weather allows it), is rooted in Tirtiaux’s passion for stained glass. Born in 1951 in Fleurus, he discovered it at the age of fifteen during Sunday mass and then perfected it with studies in glassmaking in both Belgium and France. Once completed, he placed his Cathedral of Light at the center of a 15-ray star ending with granite cobblestones. Each of them represents a European country, positioned at a variable distance from the monument depending on when the country joined the EU.

Reaching the Cathedral requires following a path through the woods and a green belt surrounding Oignies-en-Thiérache in all directions. It is a peaceful place, whose stillness is disturbed only by the sound of the wind cutting through the trees. And yet, the area has a violent past, difficult to imagine when wandering through its grass clearings. Not far from the monument, a rather ominous chasm called “le trou du diable” (the devil’s hole) can be found, where a slate mine operated for decades until it was finally closed in 1926. Its sinister name comes straight from the 17th century when it was considered a place where the devil himself could appear, and which is thus inevitably linked to the horrific witch trials of that period. A gruesome battle was fought between retreating French soldiers and German troops all around Oignies-en-Thiérache at the end of August 1914, when in the early days of the First World War the German army seemed unstoppable and destined to overwhelm France after having flooded through Belgium. Very few could have imagined, at that moment, that the conflict still had to show its worst face, although the horrors of trench warfare and the carnages that ensued were only a few weeks away.

It is on this haunted ground that the Cathedral of Light stands today, keeping the ghosts of a tormented past away and reminding us of Europe’s longing for unity, like a silent and watchful guardian. Its glass towers shine against the sky above and the woods around, beautiful like a dream. And fragile like peace.