Pieter Jan De Smet (1801-1873) was the son of a Dendermonde shipmaster and trader. When he was a student at the episcopal college in Mechelen he encountered a Jesuit who was recruiting potential missionaries, and he travelled to America with the priest. There he completed his studies, became a Jesuit and in 1837 embarked on missionary work among the Native Americans. Over the years he won the trust of different tribes and became known as the ‘great black-robe’. The American government repeatedly called on him to mediate in peace negotiations with the Indians. Father De Smet died in St Louis in 1873.
The statue, the work of the sculptor Karel August Fraikin, was erected in 1878.
