Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of the Sickle) in Berencs

Among the architectural monuments of Berencs, the Catholic church is the oldest. Its first written record dates from 1318, in which a stone church built in honor of the Virgin Mary is mentioned. It was originally built in the Gothic style. A charter issued in 1326 during the reign of Charles Robert mentions the first known parish priest, whose name was István. The next known parish priest was called "Martinus". Between 1613 and 1629, the parish priest of Berencs was Mihály Zörögh from Heves County. He is credited with making a new altar depicting the coronation of the Virgin Mary. Mihály Zörögh spent his last days as a canon in Nitra. After him, Mihály Bajcsi became the spiritual father of the Berencs, and Mihály Lotzius succeeded him in 1647. The parish priests mentioned below also cared for the spiritual welfare of the believers in Ivanka, Lük and Gergelyfalva. In Berencs, until the end of the 17th century, these spiritual fathers succeeded one another: Mihály Rajmanus, István Urbanovics and B. Vizy. At the beginning of the 18th century, Ferenc Szentmihályi became the parish priest in Berencs. He studied in Nagyszombat and became a master of philosophy. He is credited with the first registry office and the reconstruction of the church in the Baroque style in 1704. A year later, Baron Antal Révay became the local parish priest, followed by Pál Fejérváry, Antal Bacskády, György Birovszky, Ferenc Náray and Mihály Besznák. At this time, the parish of Ivanka separated from the parish of Berencs. Until the beginning of the 18th century, the parish belonged to the Esztergom archdiocese, and then it probably became part of the diocese of Nitra. The church was enlarged in 1760. It had one nave with a vaulted end. The main altar was made in the Rococo style and also dates from this year. Until the end of the 18th century, the following parish priests worked in Berencs: András Lehotzky, András Császár, Tamás Ordódy, György Balabbás, Pál Benitsád, István Hassi, Pál Bleho, János Koncz (he spoke both Hungarian and Slovak). From 1801, Antal Szlusny, then József Klekner, János Tomann (he is buried in the Berencs cemetery), and then Ignác Drexler (also buried in the Berencs cemetery, he worked in Berencs for fifty-six years) were the parish priests of Berencs. The church received its present form between 1939 and 1943, when it was expanded with a new nave and a new tower - 34 meters high. During the reconstruction period, the following inscription was added to the arch: QUAERITE PRIMUM REGNUM DEI ET OMNIA ADJICIENTUR VOBIS, which means: SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND ALL THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU. The main altar is decorated with statues of the apostles Saint Peter (right) and Saint Andrew (left) on the buttresses. Its decoration is the altarpiece painted by Károly Svestka in 1872: The Visit of the Virgin Mary to Saint Elizabeth. The painting also needed renovation in 1943, which was done by G. Gabula. In the presbytery there is a painting by Károly Jakobeyus from 1887. The pulpit is decorated with the figures of the four evangelists - Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. No. 9. picture: Altarpiece - Visit of the Virgin Mary to Saint Elizabeth 72 The baptistery is located between the sacristy and the entrance to the church, its door is made of hand-carved oak. The holy water is in a bowl from 1796, and the consecrated oils are in a triple pixida, donated to the parish by László Kámánházy, the canon of the Nitra chapter. There are several statues in the church - the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the front part of the church, the Virgin Mary on the right in the middle of the church, and Saint Joseph with the Baby Jesus in his arms on the left. Both statues were erected by the villagers in 1953, out of gratitude for the fact that those who were taken to the mines in Novák and Hanlova returned home safe and sound within a short time. In the back of the church, under the choir, there is a statue of Saint Teresa on the left and Saint Anthony on the right. At the entrance to the church, there is a statue of St. Andrew to the right and St. John the Evangelist to the left. At the back of the church, at the entrance, there is a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. The stands under the statues were made by Ferdinand Drozd, and the Stations of the Cross in the church were made by the sculptor Vojtech Ihriský in 1953 and 1954. Next to them, there are several paintings: at the front of the church, on the right, of St. Elizabeth, and on the left, of St. Anthony. These were painted by Edmund Mássányi in the 1950s at the request of parish priest Antal Beňuška. The paintings of the birth of Jesus to the left of the pulpit and the angel Gabriel's prophesy above the sacristy are also his works. The pine benches were also made at the same time, designed by the architect G. Schreiber from Tapolcsány and executed by István Hattala. The choir has a twelve-stop organ, made by Otokár Vážansky, the previous one (1766) had only four stops. Until 1941, the word of God was preached by these parishioners in Berencs only in Hungarian, when a decree was issued for the parishes in the Nitra district that the services should be bilingual. At that time, Antal Beňuška (of Slovak nationality) held his priestly office in Berencs. After his death, József Brath (later deacon) worked with us until 2000, and since then Rudolf Kopecký has been helping us with spiritual salvation.