Putting a family heritage at the service of those most in need

A little history…

Louis de Merode (1821-1876) and his wife Léonie de Rochechouart-Mortemart created a foundation that, from the very start, worked in the Marolles district for the benefit of those most in need.

Long before schooling became compulsory, they founded the Saints Louis et Agathe school on Rue Monserrat, so that the Minimes parish could have a free Catholic school. Nicknamed the “Marmitje School” or “School of the Little Pot”, it provided a daily meal to poor children on condition that they came to school. The only requirement: bring a small pot with them. The memory of this “Marmitje” is still alive today!

In 1932, the Foundation became a non-profit association in order to benefit from the legal reform of foundations. In March 1935, changes in education regulations led to the closure of the school. The association then became the “Centre d’Œuvres de Merode” (C.O.M.).

Jean de Merode (+ 1933) was the first president of the foundation once it became a non-profit. The torch passed to his nephew Louis (+ 1949), then to one of Jean’s sons, Amaury de Merode (+ 1980), Grand Marshal of the Court, who handed the task on to Alexandre (+ 2002), the well-known vice-president of the International Olympic Committee. Today, the very active Amaury de Merode presides over the work of the Centre.

In 1954, the arrival of Father Jacques Van der Biest in the Minimes parish marked a decisive turning point for the Marolles district.

In June 1969, three blocks around Rue Montserrat were threatened with demolition to make way for the extension of the Palace of Justice. The residents refused. The “battle of the Marolles” began. After many protests, their efforts paid off and the eviction order was repealed!

Although a few buildings were expropriated during the eviction crisis, they were not demolished but sold to social housing companies and renovated. A new policy was born: to house families in precarious situations decently, cramped spaces had to be renovated and reshaped. No more demolition to build social “rabbit hutches”, an inhumane solution for modest households who need the life of the street around them.

From 1980, eroded by inflation, the financial assets that had served the people of the Marolles for over a century were converted into property, a key moment in the reallocation of the C.O.M.’s capital. A stroke of genius, given how property in the district has since gained in value, led by the combative Father Jacques Van der Biest and his president at the time, the late Prince Alexandre de Merode!

Several houses were acquired and then renovated. Their use follows an unchanging principle: the ground floor goes to a charitable or benevolent organisation, such as the Comité Général d’Action des Marolles (CGAM) or CARIA, a non-profit working on lifelong learning, social cohesion and citizenship projects. The upper floors are homes, reserved for families in precarious situations at very low rents.

Poverty is not only about money. For many reasons, it is above all the impossibility of finding work and a roof over one’s head. Having a home already means a certain security. This is what the Centre d’Œuvres de Merode works towards.

Far removed from property speculation, this responsible policy secures the peace of mind of the most vulnerable people in the Marolles. What better illustration of the Merode princes’ motto: “More Honour than Honours”?

In 2012, the Centre d’Œuvres de Merode took over the organisation of the summer concerts at the Minimes church. For this activity, the C.O.M.’s first principle is to help young people, in this case young musicians, to develop their art and make themselves known. The second principle is that music helps bring cultures together, right in the heart of the Marolles, whose residents come from very diverse nationalities and cultures. The people of the Marolles come from more than 80 countries.

In the summer of 2018, the Festival had to leave the Minimes church… Forced to leave a place so dear to it, the Festival was warmly welcomed into the concert hall of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. A new perspective opened up for the project: bringing several art forms together in one place: painting, sculpture and music.