St. James's Church in Liège was founded in 1015 by Prince-Bishop Balderic II as the abbey church of Saint James Abbey. The Romanesque original had an octagonal tower around 1170. Abbot John of Coromeuse, who served from 1507 to 1525, is described as the builder of the Gothic church, which was completed in 1538. Lambert Lombard is credited with the Renaissance portal added in 1558.
The nave is described as stone lacework, with a vault of more than 150 keystones. The church is about 90 meters long, in a Latin cross layout. Apse stained glass of 1525 to 1531 is considered among Belgium's most beautiful. There are fourteenth-century choir stalls and a Renaissance organ case.
Pope Pius VI secularized the abbey in 1785. A restoration from 1972 to 1975 uncovered the Romanesque crypt.
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