On 27 April 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday, Béla Balás, Diocesan Bishop of Kaposvár, elevated Zalakaros to the status of a parish, separating it from the Galambok Parish. One of the reasons for its establishment was that Zalakaros had become a town in administrative terms and a centre for tourism. The start of the parish’s operations coincided with the day of the canonisation of Pope John Paul II (founder of the Diocese of Kaposvár and the one who instituted Divine Mercy Sunday) and Pope John XXIII. The parish church of the new parish became the Church of Divine Mercy.
The reason why it has only now been elevated to the status of a parish can be found in the town’s history: for centuries, Karos – and later Zalakaros – was a small village in Zala County.
The Zalakaros Parish has operated as a branch parish of the Galambok Parish since 1802 (source: NOVÁK, F., „Parish Priests in Zalakaros”, manuscript, Zalakaros 2010), has become increasingly independent from its parent parish. This is due to the wonderful natural gifts of the settlement, which now boasts town status; it is also a spa town, attracting many visitors. Karos’s first church is thought to have been built in the thirteenth century. It is presumed that Karos may also have functioned as a parish at that time. We have a record dating from 1430 of a church dedicated to Saint László, which may have been destroyed during the Ottoman period. Following this, we also know of a wooden church dedicated to Saint Lawrence, which may have been built in 1715 or 1716. This church was demolished in 1769. (source: NOVÁK, F., A Brief Local History – Our Churches: St Anne’s Church, manuscript, Zalakaros). The settlement subsequently had a new church built, slightly further away from the original site. The Gazetteer states the following: “It is listed as a parish in the papal tithe register of 1332–37. During the Ottoman occupation, its church was destroyed. Its present-day Baroque church was built in the 1850s.” The church was dedicated to St Anne, and its feast day is 26 July, which is now celebrated on the following Sunday.
The 20th century brought with it decades of growth for Zalakaros. In 1962, during an oil exploration, thermal water rich in minerals and at a temperature of 96 °C gushed to the surface instead of oil. Zalakaros, once a small village, gradually developed into an increasingly popular spa resort, resulting in the settlement being granted town status on 1 July 1997. On 25 July 1997, Pál Kara, Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, presented the key to the town to Mayor Lajos Szirtes. (cf. LOVÁSZ, GY., GYULAI, F., ÖRDÖG, F., VÁNDOR, L., HALÁSZ, I., KERECSÉNYI, E., NOVÁK, F., Zalakaros, Zalakaros 2000, 199–208.)
However, St Anne’s Church was proving increasingly too small for the large number of visitors. The town also recognised this problem and, as a solution, established the „Public Foundation for the New Church of Zalakaros” in the year before it was granted town status. However, due to a lack of funds, the aspirations of the public foundation and the local parish remained just that – until the residents of Nagykanizsa rose up in protest against the construction of a church in their town. Consequently, instead of building the church there, at the request of the then parish priest of Galambok, and thanks to the donor and the Diocese of Kaposvár, the plans for the church’s construction were shifted to Zalakaros. Thus, thanks to Father Vilmos Gyimesi’s initial donation, as well as the support of the Diocese of Kaposvár and the local community, the Church of Divine Mercy in Zalakaros was built and consecrated on 23 April 2006. This church is currently the most visited in Zalakaros and the parish.
