Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Katowice-Koszutka

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Katowice-Koszutka is a parish and monastery church of the Oblates on ul. Misjonarzy Oblatów MN. The friars bought the land here in 1936, and the building, at first a public chapel with a religious house, was blessed a year later. The church was then extended twice, in 1957 and at the end of the 1990s.

Construction and the first years

In 1936 the Oblates bought land on what was then ul. Zamkowa with the intention of building a church and monastery. The building permit was obtained in August, and work began on 1 September 1936. The chapel and the religious house were blessed on 5 September 1937 by Bishop Juliusz Bieniek. At first an old Gothic altar from St Mary's Church stood provisionally in the church, and a new altar was installed on 8 December 1937.

The war years and post-war extensions

After the outbreak of the Second World War, in order to protect the monastery from being taken over by the Germans, Bishop Stanisław Adamski established a parish at the church, which took place on 8 December 1940. When SS men occupied most of the monastery rooms and took down the reinforced concrete cross, the parish priest and parishioners put it up in front of the church and planted flowers around it.

In 1954 the Oblates asked for permission to enlarge the church, but the communist authorities did not grant it. The church was extended nevertheless in 1957, and the solemn blessing was performed by Bishop Herbert Bednorz. In 1977 a new organ was bought, and in 1980 a bell tower was built. In 1994 a plot for a further extension was blessed, and the renovated and enlarged church was consecrated on 21 May 1999 by Archbishop Damian Zimoń.

Nearby

Koszutka lies right next to the centre of Katowice. Within a radius of about a kilometre stand the Monument to the Silesian Insurgents, the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) and the Silesian Museum, and a little further the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Misjonarzy Oblatów MN, Katowice-Koszutka.
• The church operates as a parish church, so visiting the interior depends on services. Check the Mass times and whether you can enter outside them on the parish website or with the friars.