Our Lady of Hungary

The Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza is constructing a Roman Catholic Event Centre in Nyíregyháza, on the property adjacent to the Our Lady of Hungary Mother Parish (4400 Nyíregyháza, Bujtos utca 5.). The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Centre will be held on Sunday, 08/10/2023, from 10:30, on the occasion of the patronal feast of the Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral, concurrently with the blessing of the externally renovated church. The foundation stone and the church will be blessed by Ferenc Palánki, Diocesan Bishop of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza.

The event will be attended by: Ferenc Palánki, Diocesan Bishop of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza; Nándor Bosák, retired Bishop of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza; A. Ábel Szocska, Diocesan Bishop of Nyíregyháza; István Németh, Episcopal Secretary; Gábor Csordás, parish priest of the ecclesiastical community; the pastors of the ecclesiastical community; Miklós Soltész, Secretary of State for Church and National Minority Relations; Dr. Tünde Szabó, Member of Parliament; Dr. Győző Vinnai, Member of Parliament; Dr. Ferenc Kovács, Mayor of Nyíregyháza; Oszkár Seszták, President of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Assembly; Dr. Ildikó Galambos, Head of the Nyíregyháza District Office; Nándor Béres, Financial Director of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza; Julianna Némethné Székely, EKIF Inspectorate Director; István Kovács, EKIF Director of Education Organisation; the heads of diocesan institutions; and the parishioners of the ecclesiastical community.

The total usable floor area of the Roman Catholic Event Centre will be: 1,412.59 m². The building will have a four-storey design. The ground floor will house a café serving events, a cloakroom, a central washroom block, a storage room, and a multi-functional flow-through space that can be divided into smaller areas with movable walls. On the first floor, a foyer will be created, connected to the main auditorium. The auditorium will receive natural light through skylights. A serving kitchen will also be located on this floor. The second floor will accommodate the changing room blocks, while the attic will house the mechanical services and a storage room.

The building's facade will be adorned with a special facade cladding system, Flexbrick fired ceramic facade cladding. Behind the suspended facade cladding system, a large glass wall will be installed, providing a beautiful view of the Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral in Nyíregyháza from the multi-functional ground floor space and the first-floor foyer.

Paving stone surfaces will be laid on the pedestrian paths, and landscaping and tree planting will be carried out in the unbuilt areas. The event centre can be accessed on foot, and via an accessible route, from the direction of Samassa József Square, and by vehicle from the direction of Bujtos Street.

Total investment cost for the construction of the Roman Catholic Event Centre: 1,154 M HUF
Contractor for the investment: Vespertinus Kft.
Lead designer: Archicum ST Kft.
Technical supervisor: BACSATERV Kft.
Construction is expected to be completed by 28/02/2025.

The Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral, located in the main square of Nyíregyháza, is an iconic listed building in Nyíregyháza. With its twin towers, proportions, structural perfection, and pure style, it is an outstanding work of domestic ecclesiastical architecture. The Romanesque style church was built by Archbishop József Samassa of Eger in 1902 to commemorate his golden jubilee mass, which was celebrated in the Hungarian Chapel of Aachen Cathedral, thereby gifting this monumental church to Nyíregyháza, the then county seat of Szabolcs County. The Our Lady of Hungary Church was consecrated by Archbishop Samassa himself on 20/08/1904, and was elevated to the rank of co-cathedral in 1993, with the establishment of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza.

Until this year's renovation, the external appearance of the church was in its original condition, with the exception that in 1970, Parish Priest Ferenc Csépányi had the entire church roof replaced with Austrian heritage slate, and then in 1983, a new, electrically controlled clock tower was installed. In 1995, Parish Priest József Váradi had the buttresses and plinth stones renovated.
The current exterior renovation of the Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral in Nyíregyháza took place during the ministry of Parish Priest Gábor Csordás. The construction works were completed on 30/09/2023.

The following works were carried out during the renovation:
The ornate iron railing enclosing the church's plinth was repainted, and the steps of the church's plinth were cleaned of dirt. Yellow and red paving stone surfaces were laid around the building, forming patterns.
The bricks of the wall fields are yellow. The corners of the decorations and pillars were bricked with red bricks. Damaged and worn facing bricks were replaced with custom-made bricks.
At statical more critical points, the masonry was reinforced with high-strength stainless steel rods. Some defective limestones on the facades were supplemented with restoration mortar. The entire western main staircase was replaced with limestone, along with the columns of the eastern portico.
After repairing the stone materials and brick surface, the surfaces were treated with an impregnating agent as a long-term weather protection to preserve and maintain the repaired condition. This method guarantees the avoidance of further dampening.

Based on the expert opinion of archaeological researcher Juan Cabello, the existing roofing was replaced with new English double-lap Cembrit 27×40 cm slate (graphite grey) roofing on the roof structure above the nave and the two side porticoes. The roof structure was reinforced at points specified by the expert and treated with a post-treatment wood preservative.
The galvanised sheet metal flashings supplementing the roofing were replaced with copper sheet metal, and missing parts were also replaced with this to create a uniform, original facade appearance. The galvanised gutters and downpipes on the exterior facade were replaced with uniform copper downpipes. The steel frames of the single-glazed windows and doors on the facade were painted black.

The ground lights were replaced with modern light sources, and the equipment fixed to the columns and facades illuminating the facade was also replaced. The entire lightning protection system on the church was renovated, the electrical cabinet was also renovated, and new electrical cables were run where necessary.
Flag holders were placed on the two towers, and access was also created in the northern tower.

Total investment cost for the renovation of the Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral: 302 M HUF
Contractor for the investment: Pintye Miklós Jánosné e.v.
Lead designer: Archicum ST Kft.
Technical supervisor: Sztupa Mérnök Iroda Kft.
Construction was completed on 30/09/2023.

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For both investments, the construction of the Roman Catholic Event Centre and the renovation of the Our Lady of Hungary Co-Cathedral, the funding is provided by the Prime Minister's Office (acting as managing body, Bethlen Gábor Fund Management Plc.) from tender funds, charged to the Church Operational, Programme and Development Grants (title group), for the implementation of the support objective "Renovation of the Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral in Nyíregyháza and the expansion of the Pastoral Institute, installation of a clock and carillon in the tower of the Nyíregyháza Co-Cathedral". The tender ID is: EGYH-EOR-21-P-0057
The installation of a clock and carillon in the tower of the Nyíregyháza Co-Cathedral will be carried out at a later date.

Joyful News Press Office/Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza