Our Lady in Mechelen

 In 1613, 14 year old Jan Berchmans came to Mechelen to study. Jan (John) Berchmans later became a saint in the Catholic Church. He had previously lived in Diest, just a few miles from Scherpenheuvel, and had visited Scherpenheuvel often. He had a strong devotion to Mary. It was recorded that while in Mechelen he would visit St. Rombout's Cathedral and spend time praying at an altar there that had a replica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel. (See "A Bishop's Tale", Harline and Put, Yale University Press, 2001, pages 184 to 188)

Mechelen was the home of Archbishop Hovius of the Archdiocese of Mechelen. The fact that a replica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel is found in the cathedral there so early in the 17th century is a testimony to the early importance and fame of Scherpenheuvel.  

Jan Berchmans became a Jesuit. Recall that it was a Jesuit in Luxembourg in 1624 who started processions with Our Lady of Consolation in Luxembourg, and that Albert and Isabella supported the missions of the Jesuits in the Spanish Netherlands. The Jesuits had first arrived in Mechelen in 1611. Archbishop Hovious enlisted the help of the Jesuits to produce a new catechism for children. With 30 houses in the Spanish Netherlands, the Jesuits were very well represented there. They had opened up many free schools in a region where war had closed many schools, leaving the young without a good education.