Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Joseph d'Oignies, located in Pas-de-Calais, was built in 1925 by the Compagnie des Mines d'Ostricourt to meet the spiritual needs of Polish immigrant minors. It replaces a temporary chapel erected in 1922 and is part of a neighborhood nicknamed "Little Poland", marked by the massive arrival of Polish workers supervised by the Polish Mission. The neo-Gothic building was intended to serve the workers of pit 1 of the Ostricourt mines, closed in 1969, and reflects the importance of the Polish community in the industrial history of the region.

The architecture of the church, in Latin cross, is distinguished by its massive and square bell tower, ogival bays, and a rose above a Gothic gate. The porch, supported by Tuscan columns, precedes a bell tower flanked by foothills, typical of the neo-Gothic style. Today, Masses are celebrated in Polish and French, perpetuating the link between this place of worship and the inheritance of immigrant minors. The church remains an architectural and cultural testimony of Polish immigration in the mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

The building is part of a broader historical context, that of mining in the 20th century, where mining companies built infrastructure for their employees, including churches, schools and workers' towns. The presence of the Polish Mission, which is responsible for accompanying the workers spiritually and socially, illustrates the community organisation around industrial sites. The closure of pit 1 in 1969 marked the end of an era, but the church, still in operation, preserved the memory of that period.

External links