Sedes Sapientiae, Leuven

The Sedes Sapientiae (Latin for Seat of Wisdom, one of the medieval titles of the Virgin), also known as Our Lady of Louvain, is a medieval wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. Nicolaas De Bruyne carved the statue in 1442, copying and enlarging an earlier and smaller statue from the 13th century. The polychromy was done by Roelof van Velpen. It has been restored several times: in 1842 by the Goyers workshop and in 1945 by Jos Van Uytvanck. It is located in St. Peter's Church in the heart of the city of Leuven, Belgium. It is the symbol of the Catholic University of Leuven, in whose seal it is enclosed in a vesica piscis shape whose margin bears the text "Universitas catholica Lovaniensis. Sedes sapientiae" (Latin for Catholic University of Leuven. Seat of Wisdom).