The reliquary of Ursula was commissioned to Memling by the monastic community of Saint John Hospital where the saint was the subject of special devotion. On October 21 1489 the day of her birthday a ceremony was held in the church of the hospital. On this occasion the relics of Ursula were transferred from a former réliquaire which is also kept in the hospital into the shrine created by Memling. The wooden reliquary is made in the form of a chapel with a roof bâtière. The paintings are in some way the windows of the sanctuary.
Flemish art and heritage collections, in great detail