Oeffelt
is where in 1853 P.J.H. Cuypers built his very first church, replacing
a Gothic church with a Romanesque tower.
Unfortunately, Cuypers' church was destroyed in 1944 and its ruins were
demolished later. After the war first a temporary church was built,
while a new permanent church was built in
1955-1956. The new church was designed in 1954 by N. van der Laan, one
of the
leading members of the Bossche School, which is also the name of the
style in which the church is built. As typical for the Bossche School,
the
church was modelled after early Christian basilicas but in a modern
guise.
The three-aisled church has rather wide side-aisles which are covered
by flat roofs. At the back, not seperately distinguishable, is a
straight choir with a round tower at its right side. Unusually for this
province, the church was built out of marlstone. Behind the church is a
small building in neo-Gothic style, probably designed by Cuypers.
The original name Zoete Naam Jezus, a name introduced in 1864, was
replaced with the old name San Salvator Mundi in 1989.
