Historical references
Tiszafüred did not have a church in the time of kings of the Árpád Dynasty, but later in 1571, according to a Turkish defter, it did, and according to 1718 data, it was used by Reformed Christians.
When the area was recatholized, Bishop Károly Esterházy of Eger founded an independent pastorate in Tiszafüred in 1776. József Nyitray was the first parish priest, who celebrated mass in a room of the pastor’s house for four years from 1781, and finally in 1785, the parishioners built a small adobe church with a thatched roof. In 1816, its tower collapsed and its walls cracked, making it necessary to build a new church. It was started in 1822 and then consecrated to the Virgin Mary in 1827. The religious revival of Tiszafüred in the 19th century can be largely attributed to the parish priests Antal Pájer and Endre Tariczky.
Construction of the shrine and the Holy Cross relic
In 1933, the parish priest of the time, János Véber, invited the Sisters Named After the Divine Savior to the newly built Catholic primary school. The church proved to be too small for the city, so in 1939, a sanctuary was built to the church built in 1827 with the financial contribution of 9,000 pence from Dr. László Schleiminger, the lay president of the parish, thus the church was extended by 9 metres. The plaque of the donation can still be seen on the church wall.
A special sacral treasure of the church is the Holy Cross relic. These types of monuments contain the remaining pieces of the cross of Christ set in ornate jewellery.
The church outside and inside
It is a single-nave church of neoclassical style, with a nave with four shuttered sections and a Bohemian glass vault. The church, built in 1827, had no sanctuary and the altar and altarpiece were placed on the back wall. The tower, which projects from the façade, has an arched cornice, and the walls of the tower and the church are divided by pilasters.
The altarpiece on the main altar depicting the Assumption of Mary was created by Pál Balkay, a Tiszaörs-born painter artist. The left side altarpiece depicting the Ecstasy of St. Francis was painted by Mihály Kovács, a painter from Abádszalók. The painting depicting St. Ladislaus was created by László Dióssy.
The church was monochrome until 1948, painted by László Benke, painter from Jászberény in 1949. In the sanctuary, one fresco was painted on the apse (The Assumption of the Virgin Mary) and three large ceiling frescos were painted in the nave (The Homage of the Hungarian Saints to the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Coming of the Holy Spirit, The Angelic Greeting).
The furnishings are original, the baptismal font, the pews, the confessional are the work of craftsmen from Eger.
The organ, a monument by Otto Rieger, dates from 1911 and was donated by Abbot Canon Rajmund Rapaics and local resident József Hering. It was completely renovated in 2013.
To replace the large bell that was lost in the First World War, in 1987, Deacon Miklós Mitru had a seven-mass bell made.
Restoration of the church
The new parish and community centre was built in 2001 in honour of Magna Domina Hungarorum, extending the parish built in 1781. The restoration of the painting of the church interior is the work of restorer József Király, sculptor and artist from 2011, the altar facing the church is the work of Sándor Csontos from 2013. The consecrating bishop in both cases was Father Ferenc Palánki.