St. Eugenia's Church (Stockholm)

Saint Eugenia's Church is a

Roman Catholic church in the center of Stockholm (Sweden). It was built in 1982 on plans of the Danish architect Jørgen Kjaergaard and is situated next to the former Royal Gardens, Kungsträdgården in Norrmalm. The Church is consecrated to Saint Eugenia (Eugénie d’Alsace), an abbess (700-735) of the monastery Mont Sainte-Odile in Alsace

(France).

St. Eugenia's Parish was established in 1837 and is the oldest Catholic

reformation; as of 2010 it has approximately 9,000 members. Services are held in Swedish, English, Polish and Arabic. The operation of the church and pastoral care of the parish is overseen by Jesuits

.

History

In 1783, when king Gustav III gave foreign Catholics religious freedom in Sweden, a provisional chapel was established in the City Hall, then located on

Jesuit order

established a first community in Sweden and was put in charge of St. Eugenia's pastoral services.

In the 1950s, the municipal council decided to remodel Stockholm's inner city. The church thus was demolished and the parish had to manage with several provisional accommodations. In 1962 the municipality offered the property at Kungsträdgården 12, its present location, to the parish.

Architecture

Today's church,

neo-renaissance façade of the former dwelling house, it is hardly visible as a church from outside. Just a small, gilded cross

above the principal entry gives the impression that there is a church inside.

The building's interior is soberly designed in red brick. Several objects in the interior have been in use since the old church at Norra Smedjegatan, such as the water fonts and the

St. Mary

's Chapel is kept open during the daytime for private visits.

Bibliography

Hornung, Peter: S:ta Eugenia katolska kyrka. Stockholm 1998.
Lind, Manne: Norra Smedjegatan: De sista åren. Stockholm 1970.
Wehner, Richard (ed.): S:ta Eugenia Kyrka 1837-1937. Bidrag till Stockholms Katolska församlings historia. Uppsala 1937.
Werner, Yvonne Maria: Världsvid men främmande: den katolska kyrkan i Sverige 1873-1929. Uppsala 1996.

External links

Saint Eugenia's Parish (Swedish)

59°19′54″N 18°04′21″E / 59.3317°N 18.0724°E / 59.3317; 18.0724

History

Architecture

See also

Bibliography

External links