The ruin church located at 51 Budakeszi Road in the 2nd District was consecrated on 6 October 1822 in honour of the Virgin Mary and St. John of Nepomuk. Queen Sissi (Queen Consort of Hungary) was also a frequent visitor to the small chapel, when she and her children, Gizella and Rudolf, spent the summer in the neighbouring villa in 1866 at the invitation of Baron Frigyes Kochmeister - read on the Facebook page of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta on the occasion of the opening of an exhibition on 3 November in the 200-year-old chapel.

The Ferenchalom Virgin Mary and St John Nepomuk chapel in 1954 (Photo: Fortepan/Image number: 26803)

It is known from the post that the Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Ferenchalom, which is under monument protection, has been owned by the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta since 2011. The building retains its former glory despite its mutilated surroundings and its current dilapidated state. Its most recent burning practically destroyed the interior. Conservation works have been carried out since then, but the interior has not been reconstructed. However, life has moved back into the ruined space of the chapel with a special atmosphere: it is a place for prayer hours and small community gatherings.

They also report that the church is now facing functional and architectural renewal. The Charity Service is looking for a solution so that the place can serve the communities in accordance with the organisation's ideological intentions, paying special attention to the most disadvantaged. As a step in this search for a solution, the Department of Public Building Design of the Faculty of Architecture of the Budapest University of Technology announced the call for a section of the Scientific Student Conference (TDK) in 2020 on the re-using possibilities of the Ferenchalmi Chapel.

The church, which is under monument protection, is now facing functional and architectural renewal (Photo: Bence Kovács)

The models of the university students rethinking the community role of the church and its surroundings were presented at the exhibition organised in the chapel on the occasion of the 200th anniversary. In addition to the models, the photos of Árpád Csaba Majoros, photojournalist of the Charity Service, were also exhibited, which were taken of abandoned churches in disadvantaged areas of the country.

 On the occasion of the jubilee, a model and photo exhibition opened on 3 November (Photo: Bence Kovács)

At the opening, the participants were greeted by Bertalan Brúnó Sándor, spiritual leader of the national centre of the Charity Service, then the exhibitions were opened by Prime Minister's Commissioner Miklós Vecsei, vice president of the Charity Service, and finally, Péter Fejérdy, associate professor of the Department of Public Building Design of the BME, presented the models. The musical program was given by the students of the Malta Symphony from Tatabánya, reports the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta.

The exhibition can be viewed in the chapel until 30 November, after prior registration.

Cover photo: The Chapel of the Virgin Mary of Ferenchalom on Budakeszi Road is two hundred years old (Photo: Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta)