Holy Willibrordus Church in Helenaveen

History of the St. Willibrordus Church

The village of Helenaveen developed as a peat colony from the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1876-’82, the parish church was constructed according to a design by Dr. P.J.H. Cuypers from Roermond. This church was designed as a three-nave neo-Gothic hall church with an adjoining front tower. The side aisle bays were all equipped with steep caps with wolf's ends. The tower remained unfinished. Destroyed by wartime actions in 1944; replaced by new construction in 1951 according to a design by J. Deltrap. Three-nave basilica church with an elevated chancel, above which is a bell cote. The whole was designed in a traditionalist style, under slight influence of the Bosch school.

The current St. Willibrordus Church was built in 1950-1951. After the Roman Catholic church, the rectory, and the convent were destroyed by German soldiers on November 20, 1944, an emergency church was set up in the public elementary school. In 1948, Pastor Timmers was installed and he began preparations for the construction of the new church. On Sunday, November 12, 1950, after a Holy Mass in the emergency church, Pastor Timmers went to the church under construction in Helenaveen. He read a charter, which was then bricked behind a memorial stone in the new church. In the charter, signed by the pastor, the church council, the municipal council, the contractor, and the architect, it is stated: This church was founded on November 12, 1950. The architecture was by Mr. Jos Deltrap. On October 1, 1951, the solemn consecration of the new church took place by the bishop of Den Bosch, Mgr. Mutsaerts, assisted by Pastor Timmers. The pastor moved with his sister Anneke from the emergency rectory to his new residence. The emergency church on the Oude Peelstraat took on the function of parish house. The choir balcony was retained and a stage was set up. On Sunday, December 2, 1984, Father J. Even was installed as the new pastor of Helenaveen. Pastor Even had already been the pastor in Neerkant for 2.5 years and now took on the pastoral care of Helenaveen as well. In May 1966, for the first time, an ecumenical church service was held. Pastor Lips and Pastor J.J. Duvekot from Deurne jointly led this song and prayer service. In June 1996, the church tower was disassembled, then restored and reinstalled. On August 18, 2001, the independent St. Willibrordus parish of Helenaveen merged with the parishes of Neerkant and Liessel. They form the Pastoral Unit St. Willibrordus and have one Union Board with one pastor, supported by several other clergy. Frank Lemmens, the pastor of Liessel, became the first pastor of this Pastoral Unit. http://angelusparochie.wordpress.com/helenaveen/

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