The first mention of a church in Osieczna dates from the end of 14th century and refers to a Mikołaj, who was a vicar in 1397.
In 1419 a trial was proceeding between the vicars of Osieczna and Goniembice, which proves that the parish was already independent then. We know the names of the following vicars of the parish from the 15th century: the Rev. Jan in 1431, the Rev. Andrzej Górczyński of Górno in 1470 and the Rev. Jan Żakowski of Żakowo in 1494.
The first church was probably built of wood and covered with a shingle roof. In 1464 it was under the invocation of Our Lady, but already in 1475 it was known as Trinity and St. Dorothy's Church, and since 1514 as Trinity Church. Besides the parish church, there was a hospital complex in Łącko (suburb of the town). This foundation consisted of a small church, a hospital and a graveyard. The church was consecrated in 1436 by Canon Jakub of Gręgi. Maciej Borek, Osieczna's owner is believed to have founded the whole centre. The hospital played the role of a poor house.
At that time, the church was in a dilapidated state. When Andrzej Górka, Osieczna's new owner, saw that the old wooden church was falling into decline, he built a new brick one in 1540. It was a Gothic two-aisle church with a shingle roof, two towers and an ave-bell over the choir.
Traces of that medieval, late Gothic church have been preserved up till now: they are the choir with a ribbed Gothic vault, Gothic pillars with aisles under the organ-loft, side walls with narrow windows. According to the official record of the inspection by the Rev. Kasper Happ in 1610, the new church was consecrated in 1553 by the Rev. Jakub Dziaduski. The parish was not very large, as it only included the village of Jeziorki, the suburb of Łącko and the town of Osieczna.
In the second half of the 16th century, Poland became the scene of the Reformation movement. Already Andrzej Górka showed a friendly attitude towards Protestantism, and his sons became devoted Protestants. When the Górkas publicly renounced the faith of their ancestors, the burghers followed in their wake. Under pressure from German propagators, Stanisław Górka (Andrzej's son) deprived the Catholics of their parish church and gave it to the Protestants. Osieczna became the scene of religious strife and conflicts. When Stanisław Górka died in 1592, his nephew Andrzej Czarnkowski inherited Osieczna. The new owner managed to settle the religious conflicts. Catholic masses could be celebrated again, and Catholic and Protestant services were probably held in turns in the same parish church.
In 1601 the Osieczna estate was purchased by Andrzej Przyjemski. The year 1614 saw the establishment of the Literary Brotherhood under the invocation of Our Lady, which contributed to the revival of the religious life in Osieczna. At the same time, a Protestant church was built. About 1620, Osieczna was inherited by Andrzej's son, Adam Olbracht Przyjemski, Castellan of Gniezno, who wanted to revive its Catholic character and invited the Fathers Reformers to the town. Thanks to the efforts of the new owner, the Catholics regained its parish church. The church was reconciled by the Bishop of Poznań, Maciej Łubieński, in 1628.
In the 17th and 18th century Osieczna had as many as four churches: the parish church, Holy Ghost's Church, the monastery church and the Protestant church. In the mentioned record of the inspection we can read: "The church in Osieczna is made of stone, without any flaw, sumptuous and recently painted. It is under the invocation of the Trinity, Our Lady, St. Lawrence and St. Dorothy, consecrated in 1553."
On August 26, 1718, a second brotherhood under the invocation of St. Anne was formed. Both brotherhoods, the Literary Brotherhood existing since 1614 and St. Anne's Brotherhood played for many years an assisting role in the parish engaging in charitable work. Relatively late (on April 19, 1755), the parish was inspected by the Rev. Lubowicz.
In the second half of the 18th century, the church was threatened with ruination; however, it was renovated thanks to the joint efforts of Count Mikołaj Skoroszewski, the vicar of Świerszczyna Jakub Kwadryński and the vicar of Osieczna Józef Małczyński. In Łącko, there was still standing the wooden Holy Ghost's Church and the hospital (poor house). Unfortunately, the whole complex was destroyed by fire on May 8, 1793, and a wooden cross was erected in this place.
In 1796 the parish church was again in need of renovation. The then vicar Erazm Stachowski gave away his whole salary to the repair of the roof of the church. He also contributed to the mending of the organ. In 1818, at the request of the parishioners, a fee was imposed for using the church pews. The profits were allocated to the renovation of the interior of the church. In 1824, a Berlin bank paid for laying new roofing-tiles on the whole church, and the tower was coated with sheet iron. However, the roofers did not do the job very well, and the roof had to be repaired again. On August 2, 1859, a fire destroyed the tower and roof of the church. Thanks to the then vicar the Rev. Franciszek Zając, the church was quickly rebuilt, and during the reconstruction the services were held in the monastery church. The Dean of Śmigiel, the Rev. Walenty Theinert, consecrated the renovated church on 15th July 1860. In the same year, a new organ was installed and new bells were purchased. The tower was finished in 1869. In 1894 the interior of the church was completely renovated by the vicar Roman Leszczyński.
In the second half of the 19th century the parish obtained a new graveyard in Krzywińska Street, which was consecrated by the Rev. Dean Roman Leszczyński on July 20, 1879.
At the end of the 19th century, the town suffered from a severe lack of a charitable institution. Consequently, permission for the establishment of such a centre was given on June 8, 1900. The plot of land on which the centre was to be built was given by the vicar Roman Leszczyński, and the construction materials by Hans Hasche from Jeziorki. Three sisters from St. Elizabeth's order moved into St. Joseph's house on November 9, 1900. Soon the house was extended and a chapel was added. Regular services were held in the new chapel since 1902.
At present, the north wing of the building houses a District Health Centre - in the photograph you can see the chapel on the left and the Health Centre on the right.
After Roman Leszczyński's death on May 31, 1906, the parish was led by the Rev. Paweł Steinmetz.
During the First World War (on July, 26, 1917), the two bells were taken from the church tower for war purposes. One bell had images of St. Mary and St. Lawrence and two figures of angels. Fragments of the bells were built into the wall of the porch.
The history of the church, which you can see on this website, was published in the "Kurier Osiecki" monthly.
The author is Krystyna Śliwińska, who based the article on the books "Osieczna - zarys historyczny" by Father E. Frankiewicz and "Osieczna i jej dzieje" by Stanisław Jędruś - Leszno 1991.
Photographs: courtesy of Sławomir Skrobała