Heilige Victor
Obdam, NL
The foundation stone for the current St. Victor Church in Obdam was laid on 21 April 1891 by construction pastor Fit. Fifteen months later – on 25 July 1892 – the church was consecrated by the then bishop of Haarlem Mgr.CJM Bottemanne. The church is a cruciform basilica in neo-Gothic style. The architect of the St. Victor Church was Adrianus Cyrianus Bleys, who came from Hoorn. He designed and built many churches and buildings in North Holland, including the old Dionysius Church in Heerhugowaard, the Cunera Church in Nibbixwoud, the Koepel Church in Hoorn and the St. Nicolaas Church in Amsterdam. The Mill Hill building and the town hall of Obdam were also designed by him. The predecessor of the current church, which was also dedicated to St. Victor, stood on the other side of the road, where Victor's Hof is now located. The robust marble baptismal font on the right at the back of the church was moved from the old church, as were the two bells. The bells were stolen during the war. One of the bells was spared. The other was replaced by a new one. The beautiful Stations of the Cross are striking in the church. They are made in 'haute relief' and come from the studio of E. van Ternelmont from Den Bosch. The stations were installed in 1910. The chandeliers above the central aisle are also beautiful. There are seven paintings in the apse of the Priest's Choir. Five of the seven scenes depict events from the Old Testament, which can be considered prefigurations of the Eucharist. Seen from the church, we see from left to right: (1) the sacrifice of Abel; (2) the priest-king Melchisedec offers bread and wine as a meal of thanksgiving; (3) Abraham is about to sacrifice his only son Isaac; (4) the Jewish people gather manna in the desert; (5) the prophet Elijah is strengthened by an angel. At the front of the church we see a statue of our patron saint St. Victor. He was a Roman soldier who refused to participate in a pagan sacrificial ceremony because of his Christian faith. He was then killed by his comrades and thus died a martyr's death. St. Victor is an example to us because of his steadfastness in faith. St. John Nepomuk was also steadfast. His statue is located at the front of the confessional. He is the patron saint of the secret of confession. Devotion to Mary is expressed in two places in the church. At the front of the church we see a reduced copy of the famous icon of Mary of Perpetual Help. The statue of Mary that used to be here has been given a place at the back of the church. In 2006, a new chapel in honour of Mary of Lourdes was built behind the rectory. The reason was the parish pilgrimage to Lourdes the year before.