Krisztinavárosi Havas Boldogasszony plébániatemplom

Franczin Péter Pál, a prosperous chimney sweep, made a promise. If he and his family survived the devastating plague sweeping through Buda in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he would make a pilgrimage. His destination was the Vigezzo Valley in Northern Italy, home to a revered image of the Virgin Mary. He returned to Buda with a copy of the sacred image and built a small chapel. This chapel housed the image and became known as the “Castle Chapel”. It marked the humble beginnings of what we now know as the Krisztinavárosi Havas Boldogasszony Plébániatemplom. The Krisztinavárosi Havas Boldogasszony Plébániatemplom stands as a testament to faith and history. It has witnessed centuries of change and played a role in the lives of prominent figures. The chapel, tragically, burned down in a fire in 1723. Miraculously, the image of the Virgin Mary survived. Rebuilt and now a popular pilgrimage site, it received papal recognition in 1757. Pope Benedict XIV declared August 5th, the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, as the chapel’s feast day. The growing population of Krisztinaváros necessitated a larger church. The foundation stone of the Krisztinavárosi Havas Boldogasszony Plébániatemplom was laid in 1795. The church was completed in two years, designed by Kristóf Hikisch and overseen by Franciscan Friar Fábián Groll. The original image found its place within the new church. Between 1811 and 1815, the side altars of St. Anne, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. John of Nepomuk, and Mary Magdalene were added. In 1821, the church became an independent parish. Its first parish priest was Jakab Majsch. The church’s roof suffered significant damage during the siege of Buda in 1849. Repairs were overseen by József Hild, followed by alterations to the facade and the addition of the tower a few years later. The Krisztinavárosi Havas Boldogasszony Plébániatemplom hosted the wedding of Count István Széchenyi and Crescence Seilern in 1836. A year later, their first child, Béla, was baptized here. The renowned physicist Loránd Eötvös, just ten days old, was baptized here on August 5, 1848. Dr. Ignác Semmelweis, “the savior of mothers”, married Mária Weidenhoffer in this very church in 1857. The future cardinal and primate of Hungary, János Csernoch, served here as an assistant priest from 1877 to 1878. The church underwent a significant expansion in 1943-1944, led by architects Tibor Brestyánszky and László Borsos. The sanctuary was extended using innovative techniques. They placed the original 1796 altar on steel rollers and moved it back to create space. They then pushed the sanctuary walls back in a similar manner. This allowed for the addition of a small transept with a segmented vault. During the restoration, the original cupola fresco in the sanctuary was uncovered. Imre Szabó, who later became a bishop, served as parish priest during World War II. He heroically stood by his parishioners amidst the war’s hardships. In 1956, György Czigány regularly played the organ in the church. One of the first Hungarian church beat bands, Credo, was active here from 1972 to 1985. The Szent Gellért Catholic School, associated with the parish, was founded in 1993. It expanded to include a high school in 1997.