The parish in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark, has brought together the local Polish community for more than a century. Its fate, especially in the 1930s, was not a bed of roses, as local Poles fought against hostile clergy.

On the Danish Straits lies Nykøbing Falster. It is an old market town, formerly developed by shipping, and is today the largest town on the island, with a population of around seventeen thousand. It is known throughout Denmark for its sugar factory, the town's water tower, which was the first reinforced concrete building in the country, or the nearby Medieval Centre. In Poland, it can again be associated with the Danish Polish community. Because Nykøbing Falster is one of the main centres for Poles in Denmark. Poles who have left a distinct mark in this village.

The need for community

At the turn of the 20th century, Denmark, like other countries in Western Europe and the Americas, became a destination for economic immigration of the Polish population. Permanent residence permits were obtained on the islands of Zeeland, Lolland, Falster and Jutland, where they took up work, mainly in agriculture.

The local priests took care of the Polish community, and at the time there were about 1,400 people of Polish origin living in Nykøbing. The Catholic community in the town started around 1910. The main problem was the lack of a permanent meeting place, i.e. a church, so services and meetings were held in various rooms. This situation persisted until 1913 and the move to Jernbanehotellet. Sunday services were held in Sukkerfabrikken and on weekdays in small rooms in Frisegade.

In 1915, the Catholics of Nykøbing leased the building and, with the help of the owner of the local sugar factory, converted it into a place of worship. But this state of affairs did not last long, as the building was sold. The Catholics were again left without a church....

And then Father Janssen bought a plot of land at Bispegade, on which, with the help of local donors, he was able to erect a church together with a vicarage. The cost of construction was to be 23,000 Danish kroner. On 19 May 1916, the foundation stone for the new church was laid, and this was done by Pastor Ronge, secretary of the diocese.

"After a procession of young girls entered the site of the new church, a crucifix was placed on the temporary altar and Pastor Ronge gave the consecration speech and mentioned Bishop von Euch, who, however, was unable to attend the ceremony. Until the building was completed, services were held in the sugar factory, in a room that first had to be cleared of empty sacks."

The church was consecrated on 17 September 1916, the day commemorating Saint Francis of Assisi. It was a symbolic date, as if a tribute to the Dutch Franciscans who had worked on its erection.

This was followed by a Polish Mass, during which the sacraments of marriage and several baptisms were administered. Since then it has been known as the Church of the Holy Cross in Nykøbing Falster. In the following years it was extended and beautified.

Church strike

Mass was celebrated in the church every Sunday, at which sermons were preached in Polish. The idyll lasted until 1932, when the parishioners went on 'strike' following the actions of the then pastor, Smitz. He defended the children of Polish workers being taught religion in their native language and receiving First Holy Communion. He sought to eradicate Polishness in that region and prevent a Polish priest from heading the parish. Other unpleasant and telling situations also occurred, which were described by the Polish press:

"In the Catholic church in Nykobing (Denmark) there was a scandalous incident. A newly formed team of Polish scouts, who had come to the church for a service under the supervision of a Polish teacher, were driven out by the pastor of the church, Father Smiths, a Dutchman by origin. This incident is just one episode in the struggle that Catholic priests in Denmark -- mostly Dutch and Germans by origin -- are waging against Polish exile organisations. There is not a single Polish priest out of 10,000 Poles in Denmark". - reported the "Nowiny Codzienne" in 1933.

Józef Szymański, in his study Pastoral Care for Poles in Denmark , also gives the name of Father Ammerlaan as equally hostile to Poles. This clergyman forbade Fr Goscinski and Fr Czyż to hold services in Polish. And they resigned from the ministry after a few months of "cooperation". In the case of Fr Smitz, the situation became so serious that the Polish parishioners decided that as long as the hostile clergyman was at the church, they would not attend. Instead, they would travel to neighbouring villages for services. And in 1934 there was, as it seemed at the time, a breakthrough.

"We can share with our readers the happy news from one of the parishes, namely Nykobing F. The Apostolic Vicar for Denmark, the Rev. Bishop Brems, arrived in Nykobing on 3. IV. and, after hearing the complaints and grievances of the local Poles, decided to dismiss the previous pastor, Rev. Smitz, and at the same time promised the Polish parishioners a permanent pastor - a Pole". - reported the newspaper "Poles in Denmark".

Unfortunately, the parish did not live to see a permanent pastor from Poland. In 1935, after quarrels with Father Ammerlaan, Fr Krzysztof Górecki, a Polish Franciscan, left. Józef Szymański wrote as follows:

"The Union of Poles in Denmark never ceased its efforts to have Polish parishes staffed by religious. At the end of the 1930s, it put forward a minimum project: to entrust one parish to Polish Franciscans".

These efforts failed. The outbreak of the Second World War effectively halted them. After the war, both the church and the community developed. Today, the parish celebrates Mass in Polish.