Church of the Nativity of St. Mary

In 1795 the Catholics in Driel made plans for the first time to found their own parish. Before that, the Catholics of Driel belonged to the municipality of Eimeren, a hamlet south of Elst. The parish was founded in 1796. A church building with a parsonage was built out of their own purse. This construction was completed in 1797. In 1835 the church was enlarged and renewed.

After 5 years of preparation, the foundation was laid for the construction of a new church in the autumn of 1868. The church was built on the Kerkstraat, on the site of the current church. On December 22, 1870, this church was solemnly blessed. The old church was demolished in 1873.

The church is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The church continued to exist until September 1944. During the war, during the Battle of Arnhem, the church and presbytery were destroyed to such an extent that it was financially more advantageous to build a new church. It was therefore possible to build the church a bit larger, because the old one was too small. On the foundations of the destroyed church, the present church was built. The stones of the old church were used for this. The foundation stone was laid in February 1949. Almost a year later, on February 12, 1950, the new church was consecrated and inaugurated. The tower of the church was built later in 1960.

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