Basiliek van de H.H. Agatha en Barbara
The initiator of this remarkable church in the 1860s was pastor Willem Hellemons. He was assisted by two parishioners: Theodorus Philippus Florschütz (1823-1886), 'drawing master' at the Saint Louis Institute and Jacobus Johannes van Tilborg (1830-1897), a local carpenter. Florschütz is credited with painting the penditives or spandrels of the large dome with the four Evangelists. The old St. Agatha Church in St. Bernaertstraat, Oudenbosch (1513, demolished 1882) was in poor condition and was becoming too small for the ever-growing number of parishioners. In 1865, work on the church was started, with the most famous Dutch architect of that time as its most important advisor: Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921). The church was built after the example of St. Peter's in Rome and consecrated on 14 September 1880 by Mgr. H. van Beek, the third bishop of Breda. The Antwerp sculptor Frans de Vriendt was responsible for 44 of the 50 large statues in the church, including the statue of Salvator Mundi on the front facade, which is over 4 metres high. The bell from the tower of the old church was put back into use in 1892.
