Holy Spirit (Belp)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Church of the Holy Spirit in Belp

The Heiliggeist Church was built in 1968 as a parish church for the newly founded Roman Catholic parish Heiliggeist in Belp near Bern. It was the prototype of a series of Fastenopfer churches that emerged in the following years .

History and parish structure

The parish Heiliggeist comprises the political communities Belp- Belpberg , Toffen , Rümligen , Kaufdorf , Kirchenthurnen and Gelterfingen and belongs to the parish of St. Michael in Wabern and Kehrsatz in the pastoral area of ​​the Bern region established by Bishop Felix Gmür on May 15, 2018. The only four Catholic families in the farming village of Belp in the 1930s had grown into a steadily growing Catholic community in the later years. It was initially owned by the parish of St. Antonius Bümpliz and later by the Bernese Trinity Parishsupervised. From 1959, Pastor Beat Seckinger from the parish of St. Michael Wabern took over pastoral care in Belp. The church was built on his initiative in 1967. On December 17, 1967, the church was consecrated to the Holy Spirit by Bishop Francis von Streng .

Building description

Church forecourt

The Heiliggeistkirche, built in 1967, was built as a Fastenopfer Church based on plans by the architect Hanns Anton Brütsch using prefabricated elements. It was designed as the first in the series as its prototype, but could only be implemented as the second after the Pauluskirche Birrfeld , delayed by the approval process. All parts of the church building were designed to be demountable so that they could be rebuilt elsewhere. Thanks to the gable roof , which is pulled down to the ground at a 45-degree angle, there was no need to erect side walls. Behind the altar wall there are offices and parish rooms on three floors. In the years 1986–1988, some building work was carried out to maintain the building, and in 2009 the roof and facades were renovated. The entrance area was subsequently roofed over with glass shed roof elements. The most recent renovation concerned the modernization of the church interior.

Interior and artistic equipment

Inside with chancel
Gallery and organ

Instead of the pews, there are flexible chairs on the new flooring made of light marble. The new arrangement and the new lighting allow diverse uses of the church space. Particular attention should be paid to the glass windows designed by Heidi Reich in 1993. With the dove, one symbolically indicates the Holy Spirit of Pentecost. Day and night in the sun, moon and stars can be seen in the other windows. A tapestry, designed by Ferdinand Gehr and woven by his daughter, textile artist Franziska Gehr, is hung alternately over the altar or on the gallery parapet.

literature

  • Gabriela Hanke et al .: Catholic Bern from 1799 to 1999. A stopover . Total Roman Catholic parish of Bern and the surrounding area, Bern 1999.

See also

List of Roman Catholic churches in the canton of Bern

Web links

Commons : Holy Spirit  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Resolution of the Grand Council regarding the definition of the Roman Catholic parishes in the canton of Bern. Government Council of the Canton of Bern, April 4, 2012 (PDF; 111 kB).
  2. ^ Andreas Krummenacher: Establishment of the pastoral area in the Bern region. In: Pfarrblatt. Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Church in the Canton of Bern. 15th May 2018.
  3. ^ History. Parish Heiliggeist Belp. In: website of the parish Heiliggeist Belp.
  4. ↑ Interior. Parish Heiliggeist Belp. In: website of the parish Heiliggeist Belp.

Coordinates: 46 ° 53 '28.9 "  N , 7 ° 30' 11.7"  E ; CH1903:  604 924  /  193363