A number of their family members are buried in the abbey church, including Queen Adeliza of England (d. 1151), as well as her father Duke Godfrey I of Leuven (d. 1139).

Maria Laach Abbey in the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, was founded in 1093 as a priory of Affligem by the first Count Palatine of the Rhine Heinrich II von Laach and his wife Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde, widow of Hermann II of Lotharingia.

In 1569, the Archbishop of Mechelen became secular abbot and the spiritual duty was exercised by a provost (praepositus), a measure that lasted until the dissolution of the abbey in 1796.

In 1796, during the French occupation, the monks were chased away from the abbey, part of the buildings destroyed and the lands confiscated.

The last provost, Beda Regaus, preserved the miraculous image of Our Lady, as well as the staff and chalice of Saint Bernard.

[5] Affligem Abbey is a member of the Flemish Province of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.

To embellish the restored building, he called on the famous painters Peter Paul Rubens and Gaspar de Crayer.

For the abbey church, prominent Antwerp sculptor Joannes Cardon created the choir stalls.

The complex revived in the 18th century thanks to the monumental classicist structures of the famous architect Laurent-Benoît Dewez.

In 1768, his plans were approved for the renovation of the convent buildings, grouped around two square courtyards, with integration of the modified west facade of the church as the central element for a long, symmetrically extended façade composition with two risalites under triangular pediments.