Church of Our Lady of Sorrows (Porsgrunn)

In 1887, the porcelain factory began operations in Porsgrunn, but few Norwegians had experience in porcelain production, and the factory management decided to hire workers from abroad. Over the next few years, more than 40 craftsmen and their families moved from Bohemia, Austria-Hungary and Germany to Porsgrunn to work in the factory. ^[1] Most of the workers were Catholics. A Catholic community emerged in the city, which stood out from other regions. It is noteworthy that in 1900 there were only 1969 Catholics in Norway. ^[one]

In 1889, , who led the apostolic prefecture of the Roman Catholic Church in Norway , sent the Dutch priest Johannes Henrik Blom from Christiania to Porsgrunn. In Porsgrunn, J.H. Blom purchased a plot of land for the construction of the church, and also rented a small room in a house owned by the Vauvert Catholic family ^[2] and turned it into a temporary chapel for sermons. The chapel was consecrated on September 14, 1889. A little later, the nuns of the Order of St. Joseph from the French Chambery joined Blom, who moved from Christiania to Porsgrunn to establish a hospital there. ^[3] In 1894, the construction of the St. Joseph and the chapel were moved to the hospital building, after which it was decided to build a full-fledged church on the site purchased by Blom.

To build the church building, architect Haldor Larsen Burve was chosen, who earned a good reputation in Telemark. He was the architect of several buildings in Porsgrunn itself, and a church in nearby Langangen (1891). In 1894, the , built in dragestile, was built according to the Burwe project. He especially liked the European aristocracy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Johannes Olav Fallis insisted that the building of the Catholic Church in Porsgrunn should also be made in the national Norwegian style.

The construction of the church began on January 4, 1899, and was completed on October 8, 1899. The total cost of the work was about 12 thousand crowns. The construction work was carried out by Thovsen & Torjussen. Church bells are cast at the factory in Tonsberg . Window stained-glass windows are made in Germany and delivered from Berlin. ^[four]

Johannes Olav Fallise was pleased with the work done, at a gala reception after the opening of the church, he delivered a grateful speech to the architect Haldor Borve. ^[4] Falise advocated the construction of Catholic churches in the then-romantic national romantic dragestyle. In addition to the church in Porsgrunn, in 1898-1899 three more were built in a similar style - the church of St. Svitin in Stavanger , ^{[5] the} church of St. Lawrence in Drammen ^[6] and the Church of St. Brigitte in Fredrikstad . Architect of churches in Drammen and Fredrikstad Ole Sverre . Later, these churches received new buildings, with the exception of the Church of Our Lady of Good Council in Porsgrunn. ^[3]

In the 1930s, due to a change in the road system of Porsgrunn, the church building was in a very uncomfortable place. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the construction of a new people's house was planned in the neighborhood of the church. In 1937, it was decided to move the building to a new place - on the opposite side of Sverre gate street, where a new foundation was built on a free site. Special iron rails were laid across the street, on which the building was moved on iron rollers. After the church was transferred to a new foundation, the capacity of the church was slightly increased due to the reconstruction of the porch and entrance. In the new place, the church received the current address of Olavs gate 19. The church was again consecrated in its new place on October 10, 1937. ^{[1] [7]}

The Church of Our Lady of Good Council is the parish church of the parish of Our Lady of the Good Council of Norway, which is part of the Diocese of Oslo . As of 2011, the parish had almost 2,300 members, just like a hundred years ago, among the parishioners there is a high proportion of migrants, among them representatives of almost 80 nationalities. ^[1] The most numerous communities are from Vietnam , the Philippines and Poland . ^[8] Sermons are held in several languages, including Norwegian, English, Polish and Vietnamese. In 2012-2013, the parish priest was Clement Amirtanthan from Sri Lanka . ^[9]

• Geir Tandberg Steigan. Porsgrunn: Vår frue kirke, Olavs gate 19 (Norwegian) . artemisia.no (2002).
• Pater Reidar JDIVoith og Ida Barcley . Vår Frue menighet - litt historikk (Norwegian)
• Frode Eikenes . Vår Frue menighet i Porsgrunn (Norwegian)
• Vår Frue kirke i Porsgrunn (1910) - Katolsk Tradisjon i Norge (Norwegian)
• Vår Frue kirke (Porsgrunn) - Norske kirker (Norwegian)