ST HALLVARD S CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OSLO (QJOLVK

ST HALLVARD S CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OSLO (QJOLVK

6W +DOOYDUG V &KXUFK LV D &DWKROLF SDULVK FKXUFK LQ WKH GLRFHVH RI 2VOR The parish is spread over an area which is not only large in size but also the most densely populated area in Norway. When the church of St Hallvard was consecrated May 15 1966, the parish numbered 1000 souls. Today, in 2010, the parish has 12 000 registered parishioners in addition to a large number of unregistered members. Most of the parishioners are first or second generation immigrants or asylum seekers from other countries and continents. Masses are therefore celebrated in English, Polish, Vietnamese and Tamil, as well as Norwegian, in order to meet the language needs of the largest groups. At the present time as many as eight Masses are celebrated every Sunday at the church. (See Mass times on back of folder) Mass is also celebrated in the church at Holmlia and in Skoklefall Church at Nesodden. A new church is being planned to be built at Mortensrud, south of Oslo. On weekdays an evening Mass is celebrated at 6 pm in the chapel. Prior to the evening Mass there is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. There is also the opportunity for the Sacrament of penance (Confession) in several languages. In May and October, the months of Mary, the Rosary is prayed after the evening Mass. During Lent the Mass is followed by the Stations of the Cross. +LVWRU\ When the parish was established in 1890 it was served by secular priests. In 1954 the running of the parish was transferred to the Franciscans who came from their province in the Netherlands. Later they were relieved by Franciscans from Poland. Since 2008 the parish has again been run by secular priests. When the present day church was built, a monastery was also Stt Hallvard s S Hallvard s C Church hurch

about 140 different nationalities are represented. built for the Franciscans. The monastery has since been reconstructed as flats for the secular priests. The church lies in the middle of Enerhaugen, a suburb close to the city centre, and is surrounded by the distinctive tall buildings of the area and were designed by the architects Kjell Lund and Nils Slaatto. The large and densely populated parish of St Hallvard includes all of the eastern area of Oslo, extending from the city centre and out to all the adjoining suburbs and townships north, east and south. This covers parts of Groruddalen in Oslo, Ski, Follo, Oppegård, Ås, Enebakk, Nesodden and Frogn. Altogether The planning and building of St Hallvard Church began in 1959, initiated by the Dutch Franciscans and Bishop John Willem Gran. On May 15, the feast day of Oslo s patron saint, St Hallvard, the new church was consecrated. St Hallvard lived in the 12th century. He was well-born, of royal blood. He lived on the farm Huseby in Lier, north of Drammen. In an attempt to save a pregnant woman fleeing from some men who accused her of theft he was shot with three arrows and killed. His body was thrown into the fjord with a millstone round its neck. Later his body was discovered floating on the surface, glowing radiantly. It was taken to Oslo, and placed in a shrine. Hallvard was declared a saint. Since then St Hallvard has been the patron saint of Oslo. He is depicted on the coat of arms of the city. St Hallvard s Church

7KH FRQVWUXFWLRQ RI 6W +DOOYDUG V FKXUFK (QHUKDXJHQ The architects chose rough materials. The church is a modern construction in brick, glass and concrete, influenced by the architectural trends on the Continent at that time. The main form of the building is a square which encloses the circular sacred room. In addition there is a rectangular chapel. Seen form outside, the church appears as a solid mass of burnt bricks, apart from a wall of windows facing the fjord on the southern side. In 1993 an addition was completed, which houses the parish hall, a kitchen and offices for The Franciscan Charitable Trust. The parish office lies in the south-west corner on the ground floor, under the original parish hall on the first floor. The southern wall of windows facing the fjord comprises offices for the priests on the ground floor, and living quarters for the parish priest on the first floor, and for the chaplains on the second floor. There is a wonderful view over Oslo, Bunnefjord, Bjørvika and Ekebergåsen. The circular shape of the sacred room is meant to express the spirit of fellowship around the altar, the central and highest point in the room, thus emphasizing the presence of God within the parish community. The gradual elevation of the floor up towards the altar reinforces this impression. The walls slope gradually outwards, 3 degrees, for acoustic reasons. Apart from the large glass entrance door, no natural light slips into the sacred room. There is a need for electric lighting in order for the priest and parishioners to be able to read. Stt Hallvard s S Hallvard s C Church hurch

It is the originality of the ceiling which arouses most wonder: it falls down into the sacred room, a shell of reinforced concrete. The anti-cupola is both awe-inspiring and consoling. It seems as if here God is bending down to his creation, unlike the classic cupola which stretches up towards God in heaven. The church seats from 300 to 350, with additional seating for 70 in the chapel. '(&25$7,21 In accordance with Franciscan spirituality the church is very simply decorated. The Byzantine crucifix behind the altar, painted by Anne-Lise Knoff and students form the art school in Buskerud, is a copy of the crucifix which spoke to St. Francis in San Damiano Church in Assisi. On October 5 1986 St Hallvard s Church received its St. Damiano Cross. The 15 Stations of the Cross are by Herman Bongard. The bronze sculpture of St. Hallvard, by the Polish artist Krzysztof Piotrobski, was blessed by Bishop Bernt Eidsvig 29 April 2008. In a column cleft to the right of the altar can be seen, somewhat dimly, a wooden statue of St. Francis, made by the sculptor Ragnhild Butenschøn. The Madonna statue is under the St Hallvard s Church

canopy in the passage between the church interior and the Sacramental Chapel. The original statue, which was from the previous St. Hallvard s Church in a house in Urtegaten, was vandalised in 2004 and replaced by this one. The painting above the altar in the Sacramental Chapel is by Anne-Lise Knoff. The cross is surrounded by Norwegian motives based on a legend from Hedal Stave Church about the bear which was discovered in the church after the Black Death. The frieze of scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi is painted by Liv Benedicte Nielsen. The figure of Christ on the wall in the Sacramental Chapel is originally from Mexico. A decorative stone built into the wall at the side entrance is a fragment from the medieval Hallvard Church in Gamlebyen. In the Chapel for Baptism the four concrete mouldings portray baptism symbolised with Biblical motives. The work is by the Dutch Franciscan Renald Rats. Stt Hallvard s S Hallvard s C Church hurch

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