The origins of the chapel
The Marienkapelle was built in 1968 directly on Heidenstraße. It was a gift from Mr. Willi Deimel to the parish of Referinghausen. Through the mediation of Pastor Josef Schmitz, who prayed his daily breviary on this stretch of Heidenstraße, the farmer Josef Hessen made the land available.
The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was created by the artist Josef Bergenthal from Oberschledorn. Both Willi Deimel and Josef Bergenthal had lived as soldiers in Norway during the Second World War and decided to create a worthy place of thanksgiving for the Mother of God after their happy return home.
A memorial plaque was inaugurated in 2003. It is a reminder of the centuries-old military and trade route "Heidenstraße", which led from Leipzig to Cologne and was also a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. The bronze plaque was erected by the village community of Referinghausen and the Friends of the Pilgrims of St. James in Paderborn.
Every year on "Assumption Day", believers from the surrounding villages make a pilgrimage to the chapel to take part in an open-air mass. The Marienkapelle on Heidenstraße is also a popular destination outside of the pilgrimage. This is evidenced not least by the numerous guest books that have been written in full and in which all visitors to the chapel have been able to sign since 1996. These books are kept in the Referinghausen Heimatstube as a testimony to the past.
Text source: Homepage Referinghausen
You will find the Marienkapelle above the village of Referinghausen, far behind the Schützenhalle (follow the road "Auf der Polter").
