De Krijtberg

De Krijtberg Kerk
Francis Xavier Church "De Krijtberg"
Location	Singel 448 1017 AV Amsterdam
Country	Netherlands
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.krijtberg.nl
Administration
Diocese	Haarlem-Amsterdam
Parish	Amsterdam St Nicholas

De Krijtberg Kerk is a Roman Catholic church in Amsterdam, located at the Singel. The church was designed by Alfred Tepe and was opened in 1883. The exuberant interior was made by Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg.

History

The church is dedicated to St Francis Xavier and is one of the rectorates within the Roman Catholic parish of St Nicholas, and is recognised by its two pointed towers. Since 1654 there has been a Jesuit church at this location. The original clandestine church was replaced by another one in 1677. The current Neo-Gothic church was built on the same space in 1881. Space limitations urged architect Alfred Tepe to design an unusually tall church with a monumental front. The interior was provided by members of the Guild of St. Bernulphus, most notable the Mengelberg firm. Most of interior has survived. Services there are in a variety of styles.^[1]

Ignatius House

Next to the church is Ignatius House (Dutch, "Ignatiushuis"). It is a spirituality and cultural centre also of the Society of Jesus.^[2][3] It was founded in 1985 as a non-residential spirituality centre with Paul Begheyn as director. It moved to its present location in 2000. It is dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola the founder of the Jesuits. It primarily runs courses and retreats on Ignatian spirituality for Dutch speakers.^[4] Although, it has Jesuits on the staff, it is run by a team of lay people, members of other Catholic religious orders and other Christian denominations.^[5] The building consists of three large rooms, the Great Hall that can fit 50 people in theatre-style seating, an upper room for meetings, lectures, courses and workshops and a meditation room for reflective activities.^[6]

Services

• Sunday
  • 1715 Vigil Eucharist in English
  • 1030 High Mass in Latin
  • 1230 Eucharist
  • 1715 Eucharist with cantor
• Monday-Friday
  • 1230 Eucharist
• Saturday
  • 1230 Eucharist
  • 1600-1700 Sacrament of Reconciliation^[7]

Interior

• 
  Rood screen
• 
  Detail of Ferdinand of Austria receiving Peter Canisius
• 
  The organ
• 
  Sanctuary

See also

• Society of Jesus
• Ignatian spirituality
• List of Jesuit sites in the Netherlands
• List of Catholic churches in the Netherlands

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krijtberg.