Due to the growth of the Catholic population in Szentes, a need arose in the Felsőpárt district for the construction of a new church. In a decree issued in 1920, the Bishop of Vác called for the division of the Szentes parish into two parts. The new parish established on Jókai Street was named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The plans for the church to be built were drawn up by Gáspár Fábián and approved by Béla Cseuz, the town’s chief engineer. Lajos Márton, a painter from Budapest, was commissioned to create the church’s frescoes. He designed the stained-glass windows, which were realised by the glass painter József Palka. The high altar, made of Carrara marble, is the work of master altar-builder N. Nordio.
The new church was completed in a year and consecrated in 1943. Its western façade, at the main entrance, is adorned with a bronze statue depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The interior of the church, built in the Neo-Romanesque style, is modern in appearance, graceful and beautifully proportioned, and equally pleasing to the eye. The altarpieces, the relief stations and the statues of the saints are worthy adornments of the church.
The title of the central altarpiece is ‘The Town of Szentes Pays Homage to the Sacred Heart of Jesus’, and just as the figures depicted in this and the other paintings are all modelled on people from Szentes, so when the faithful look at the altarpiece, they see nothing but faces from Szentes. In the main painting, Jesus’s heart, emerging from a golden field, is handed over to his mother, the Virgin Mary, who in turn conveys it to the whole world. Jesus and Mary are then honoured by the host of Hungarian saints: Saint Stephen, Saint Emeric holding a lily, the kneeling Saint Gerard, Bishop Mór Balog of Pécs holding the Gospel, Saint Ladislaus, Saint Elizabeth and Saint Margaret of the House of Árpád, and Saint Lawrence, bearing the banner of the crusaders. At the bottom of the main image is a depiction of the homage paid by the Catholic inhabitants of Szentes, with a view of the town in the background. In the foreground of the painting, in the centre, are Dömötör Fekete and his wife Viktória Aradi, whose bequest made it possible to begin construction of the new church, together with Father Irén, as they pay homage to Jesus while presenting a model of the church. Joining them in their act of worship are citizens of all ranks and stations from the town.
The altarpiece on the right is entitled “St Francis in the Cave of Greccio” and depicts the scene in which, with the Pope’s permission, the infant Jesus appears in the arms of St Francis of Assisi whilst he is celebrating Mass in the cave of Greccio in 1221.
The third painting on the high altar is Saint Clare serving the Blessed Sacrament. This painting depicts the scene in which the Saracens attacked Saint Clare’s convent, and Saint Clare, in self-defence, brought out the Blessed Sacrament, whereupon the Saracens fled, startled by the radiance emanating from it.
The fourth painting, above the altar of Mary, bears the title ‘Queen of the Rosary’ and depicts the Virgin Mary giving a rosary to the infant Jesus, who in turn passes it on to the girls and boys of the congregation gathered around him.
