Press Release – 16 May 2025
The Catholic Parish of St. Olav has initiated an amendment to the local detailed plan for the church property located at Yrjönkatu 36, 40100 Jyväskylä. The amendment applies to the entire property, which will be divided into two blocks: one for residential apartment buildings (AK-1) and the other for churches and other parish buildings (YK/s).
The church building, which has been in use for 63 years, is protected under the Act on the Protection of Built Heritage. The aim of the new local detailed plan is to ensure the continued use of the church by the Catholic parish and to allow parish meeting rooms to be located in the church’s basement. The plan will also, for example, specify the building rights for the church, which are not currently defined in the existing plan.
While the church has been reasonably well preserved, its age now requires major renovation. The stained-glass windows, in particular, need urgent restoration. Updating the local detailed plan will create favorable conditions for meeting the parish’s spatial needs and for renewing the building’s technical systems in line with conservation objectives.
The residential building currently located on the property is not included in the protection decision. Over the decades, it has served as a convent for religious sisters, a kindergarten, and a residence. It has also housed parish offices and the rectory. Both the convent and kindergarten have ceased operation. Providing student housing is not part of the parish’s core mission, and maintaining it has proven financially unsustainable given the parish’s resources.
The residential building, now over 60 years old, has deteriorated significantly. Its technical systems no longer meet modern standards, and its structure does not allow for functional reconfiguration into suitable housing. The parish has no further use for the current residential building. The local detailed plan amendment will allow the building to be demolished and replaced with a new residential and commercial building.
Further Information
St. Olav’s Parish
Parish Priest Anders Hamberg
The Catholic Church in Finland
Financial Administrator Tommi Reinikainen
City of Jyväskylä
City Planning Architect Virva Hannula
Historical Background
The Catholic Parish of St. Olav has been active in Jyväskylä since 1949. At the time of its founding, the parish encompassed nearly all of Finland, excluding the Helsinki area and southwestern Finland. The parish was preceded by the establishment of a chapel and rectory in a property located on Vaasankatu. The clergy moved there from Lahti, where the parishes previously active in Viipuri and Terijoki had been relocated due to the war. Around the time the parish was founded, the building received a small bell frame with a cross.
In the early 1960s, a new site was sought for the growing parish. A suitable location was found on Yrjönkatu, and construction began in autumn 1961. Bishop Gulielmus Cobben consecrated the new church and parish center on 26 August 1962. The new church building was considered a success and well suited to the needs of a small parish. It was designed by provincial architect Olavi Kivimaa. The stained-glass windows were the work of Dutch artist René Groenen; the wall relief and baptismal font by Dutchman Lou Manche; the Stations of the Cross by Swiss artist Albert Wider; and the altar and ambo by Irishman Christopher Ryan. A spacious parish hall was located in the basement. The rectory had space for two priests and a few guests. The building also housed the kindergarten, apartments for the sisters, and the top floor included accommodations for 15 students.
In its early years, the parish clergy consisted entirely of members of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (S.C.I.). In autumn 1962, Dutch Sisters of the Sacred Heart arrived to run a kindergarten for children. In 1976, responsibility was transferred to Polish Ursuline Sisters, who served in the parish until recent years, when the kindergarten they operated, known as Nunnala, had to be closed.
St. Olav’s Parish is one of eight parishes in Finland that are part of the universal Catholic Church. These parishes belong to the Catholic Diocese of Helsinki, which covers the entire country. There are about 18,000 Catholics registered in the parishes in Finland, but the actual number is believed to be several thousand higher. The Catholic Church in Finland grows annually by several hundred new members through immigration, baptisms, and conversions.
Sources
– Kalevi Vuorela: Finlandia Catholica. Studium Catholicum, Helsinki, 1989.
– Slegers – Laukama: Pyhän Olavin kirkko Jyväskylässä, 1970.
– The Catholic Church in Finland / Communications: info@katolinen.fi