Polish church in Kőbánya, Catholic parish church in Kőbánya district, Budapest, Hungary.
The Polish National Church (Mindenkor Segítő Szűz Mária plébániatemplom) is a slightly Art Nouveau Catholic church in Budapest's 10th district. A massive, bastion-like tower stands on its left side, and a stepped stairway leads to the entrance. The nave is lit by stained-glass windows depicting Polish and Hungarian saints and blesseds, made by József Palka and Béla Dobsa.
Polish workers at the Kőbánya quarries held services in the Conti Chapel from 1907, and Father Wincenty Danek obtained permission for a separate Polish Roman Catholic church in 1914. Construction, delayed by the First World War and funded partly by Poles in Poland and America, began in 1925 to Aladár Árkay's plans. August Hlond, Cardinal Primate of Poland, consecrated the church in August 1930; the communist state took it from the Polish community in 1952, which regained it in 1989.
Services held in Polish language create a gathering space where the local Polish community expresses its religious identity and maintains cultural traditions. Visitors can observe how this community continues to observe its customs within the walls of this parish.
Plan your visit in advance since services are conducted in both Polish and Hungarian at different times. Special services for major Catholic celebrations and Polish national holidays may follow different schedules.
The entrance forecourt holds memorial plaques to the donors who funded the building, to Wincenty Danek, its first parish priest, and to August Hlond, the cardinal-primate who consecrated it in 1930. Outside, beside the door, a plaque commemorates the victims of the Katyn massacre.
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