Our Lady Church (Máriakéménd)

The Our Lady Church in Máriakéménd is a Roman Catholic church and pilgrimage site in the Diocese of Pécs. It was built north of the village, separated by a good half kilometer from the inner area of the settlement, near the present-day road 5608.

History

The village’s Swabian inhabitants moved from Fulda to Kéménd in 1725, which at that time was the property of the Benedictine abbey of Pécsvárad. When the settlers arrived, only the ruins of the medieval St. Nicholas church were visible at the site of the old village. Croats already lived in the area, belonging to the Catholic parish. The Germans built their first, still wooden chapel in honor of St. Martin, which was supplied by the Versendi parish. Kéménd became an independent parish in 1744.

The origin of the pilgrimage site is linked to a marvelous apparition. In April 1740, among the ruins of the Saint Nicholas church, some local little girls were gathering grass when they saw the statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus, shining in light, in a niche. They could not lift the statue out of the ground, it disappeared. The village judge Ferenc Plumenthaller could not dig it up. News of the apparition soon attracted pilgrims from near and far. Therefore, at the request of the pilgrims, the village judge covered the sanctuary of the ruined Saint Nicholas church with straw so that Mass could be celebrated there. The parish was established in 1753 by Archbishop Elz Hugó, and the first pastor, arriving from Nagyszombat, began his service in 1776, György Lypusy. At that time Kéménd still belonged to the Archdiocese of Esztergom (it was an exempt area), so in 1754 the episcopal visitor investigating the matter, Count Károly Esterházy, also came from Esztergom. According to other sources, Károly Esterházy sent Miklós Csáky, before whom the witnesses swore to tell the truth. The construction of the larger church was completed by that time. The chapel of Mary, built a decade earlier on the medieval ruins, became the sanctuary of the new church. In 1754 the inhabitants of Kéménd founded a rosary brotherhood and published a German-language hymn and prayer book. On its title page the valuable engraving of the famous Buda copper engraver János Binder can be seen, depicting the shrine and the contemporary image of the shrine statue.

The first image of Our Lady at Máriakéménd was painted by a woman from Pécs in 1746, because her daughter was healed through the intercession of Mary. In its place, in 1758 another picture of Mary was commissioned, which also depicted the patron saints of the filial churches: Saint Joseph (Márza), Saint Nicholas (Liptód), Saint Martin (Kéménd) and Saint Lawrence (Szederkény). This was replaced in 1765 by the present statue of Mary. Only the frame remains of the picture. According to the old woodcuts, the statue of Mary held a triple rose branch in her right hand, while today there is a staff there.

In the 1770s a crypt was placed beneath the church. The Calvary was built in the mid‑century, and at that time the side chapels of Saint Anne and Saint John of Nepomuk were also erected in the church. The right to celebrate funerals was received from Pope Clement XIV in 1773 for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other Marian feasts. The parish was attached to the Diocese of Pécs in 1776. The first clergy of the church were Franciscan fathers, and after diocesan priests, the Society of the Divine Word settled here between 1914 and 1926.

The sanctuary of the present Baroque church dates from the 15th century. Unique and remarkably beautiful is the main altar structure, on whose two sides, in Rococo frames, seven‑seven rosary‑mystery painted images can be seen. The glorious reader of the 15th mystery is represented by the mercy statue: “Who you, Holy Virgin, crowned in heaven”. Therefore Mary held in her right hand the triple rose signifying the joyful, painful and glorious reader.

On the south side of the church stands a statue of Saint Margaret of Antioch, the protector of mothers, as she defeats the dragon. In front of the church entrance is a statue of Saint Valentine. The columns of the Stations of the Cross stand in the church garden.

Hymn

Like many pilgrimage sites, the Great Blessed Virgin Mary shrine in Máriakéménd also has its own hymn:

We have come to you, sweet Mother of the Virgin! Who pours out your Son's grace upon us. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

We have brought to you our broken hearts, We pray, ease our many sufferings. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

Often we think we cannot endure any longer. But you lovingly bend down to us. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

Kindly you lift us up, good Mother, us. You fill our broken souls with new strength. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

With your help we begin a new life, We never stray from your path. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

After this we live and die only in you, With love, good Mother, we are yours. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

When we finally bid farewell to our sorrowful life, Take our broken hearts into your holy altar. O, Mary, Virgin Mother of Kéménd, May your care be upon your faithful Hungarians.

Farewell

At Máriakéménd the major Marian feasts are celebrated with processions. The main processions are: the Great Blessed Virgin (August 15) and the Little Lady's Day (September 8). Other important processions are: Candle‑blessing of the Blessed Virgin (February 2), Fruit‑offering Blessed Virgin (March 25), St. Michael’s Blessed Virgin (July 2), Mary’s name day (September 12) and the Feast of the Sorrowful Mother (September 15).