Heilige Catharina

Demolished. Replaced.

As far as can be determined, the name 'Beek' was first mentioned around 1500, in Gelderland fief deeds. The hamlet was then called: 'Leen ter Beke', 'Aen gen Beeck', or later 'ter Beeck in den kerspel Bracht'. In 1526, the village of Bracht was no more than a chapel, served from the old parish of Linne and Echt, in 1756 Bracht was called a parish and Beek also fell under that. However, according to a provision of Bishop Reginaldus, since 1696 the proceeds of 'Aen gen Beeck' had to go to Linne and not to Bracht. In the meantime, a chapel had been built in Beek. It is still there and bears the date 1791. It is crowned with a nice roof turret and has an altar from the 18th century. This chapel was dedicated to Our Lady from the beginning and was immediately served from Bracht. The pastor of this place had to ensure that the holy mass was read once a week in Beek. Because the number of believers in Beek increased over the years, the bishop of Roermond decided in 1932 to start building his own house of God on the spot and he appointed a rector. The church was built in 1933 to a design by J. Franssen. On 1 August 1946, the rectorate was elevated to a parish with H. von Schwarzenberg as the first pastor. During the month of December 1944, the church was hit by several grenades. However, the damage was minor. Even the windows by René Smeets in the chancel were preserved. The church of Brachterbeek was the only one in the immediate vicinity that had come off so well. Pious souls attributed this to the fact that the church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart and pointed out that other Sacred Heart churches in Roermond, Tegelen and Venlo were also spared. (Source: The destroyed churches in Limburg/A. van Rijswijck, pr. - 1946)

Neo-Romanesque church with tower. In 1994 new spire, repair of damage after earthquake in 1992.