The University emblem

Mary, Seat of Wisdom, is one of the names the litanies bestowed upon the Virgin.

For art historians, a Sedes Sapientiae is also a representation of the seated Virgin, presenting to the world the baby Jesus whom she is holding in her lap. For them, a whole range of meanings can be given to the notion of the seat and wisdom, from the most concrete – the cathedral, the lap – to the more spiritual: the incarnation. 

In the 19th century, the university placed itself under the holy patronage of the Virgin. It took for itself a circular emblem on which the initials SMR (Sancta Maria Regina) are surmounted by a crown and rays of glory.

The figure of the Sedes Sapientiae as emblem first appeared in 1909 when the university celebrated the 75th anniversary of its restoration. The Virgin of Wisdom from the collegiate church Saint-Pierre de Louvain served as a model.