Memorial Church

The Memorial Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Rhenen. The church was built to a design by architect Jules Kirchner as a National Memorial and as a church building. This was done on the initiative of then pastor Verhoeven, who himself experienced the horrors of the German invasion as a chaplain. To finance this memorial, a national 'stone action' was organized in 1954. Through this fundraiser, an amount of 465,000 guilders was raised in one day, more than enough to realize the building.

The Memorial Church, dedicated in 1959, was built with the aim of keeping alive the idea of all Dutch Victims of the war 1940-1945 and those of the actions in Indonesia and Korea.
The layout of the church also refers to the battle on the Grebbeberg. A back wall with figurations from the contours of the Grebbeberg and five crosses (five days of battle, five years of occupation), a torch of hope and a plateau with the inscription "So that we live"

The floor is of 'earthy rock', laid like a whimsical carpet; the benches are burned and brushed out, symbolizing the blackened remnants of war and violence; the 14 Stations of the Cross, made by Johan Ponsioen in Tiel, are sepia, the 5 stained glass windows depict the Dutch armed forces: land, air and sea forces.

By appointment, a visit to the church is more than worthwhile.

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