Collection boxes and tins came in all shapes and sizes. You’ve more than likely come across several. Best remembered are perhaps the ones used to raise money for the African missions: a little black boy nodded gratefully when a coin was dropped into the box. Money was also collected in offertory boxes, church collection plates and the collection boxes that were on the counter of almost every shop. This collection box, raising money for Catholic Education, is a testimony to how deeply the Catholic Church is interwoven into everyday Flemish life. The church was and still is active throughout society. Schools, hospitals, health insurance funds, trades unions, sports and youth clubs grew out of and were shaped by Catholicism, often far more than we might think today.