 Before the Cavaillé-Coll organ, the church had an organ built in 1840 by the Flemish organ builder Pierre Van Pethegem.In 1850, François-Joseph Fétis advocated the construction of a model organ in Belgium, he got support from dean Désiré Ignace Verduyn.They asked Cavaillé-Coll to make a proposal for a new organ, the first CC organ in Belgium.