Another small sacral building in Dubie is the Chapel God´s Heart of Jesus located in the local cemetery. Until the turn of the millennium, its predecessor was a small wooden morgue, which also served as a tool store for the gravedigger. However, over time, this building fell into disrepair and its ragged appearance devalued the atmosphere of the place of reverence. Therefore, the inhabitants of Dubie took the initiative into their own hands and from March 2001 they started to rebuild the wooden morgue into a brick building. Their efforts were crowned on September 16, 2002, when the chapel was blessed by the then pastor and dean of the district Kysucké Nové Mesto, Mons. Ján Šmelka.
Initially, the chapel was used mainly for ceremonies related to the burial of the dead. For these purposes, but not only those, it is still used today. In winter, the body of the deceased is placed here until the funeral. As the chapel does not have its own cooling equipment, in the warm summer months, the remains of the deceased are placed in the House of Mourning in the neighboring cemetery in Kysucké Nové Mesto and from there they are then transported to the chapel for ceremonial purposes. However, the chapel also found its use in the less gloomy side of the life of the inhabitants of Dubie. Occasionally it becomes a place of worship for the local community. The first Holy Mass was held here on June 20, 2004 and was celebrated by ThLic. PaedDr. Pavol Mazúch under a white tarpaulin with the participation of more than a hundred believers. In addition to the ceremonies, it was and still is used by local parishioners for a common rosary prayer.
In 2014, the chapel was reconstructed. The request for the renovation of this building came directly from the residents in 2013 when planning the reconstruction of the bell tower. After the completion of this project, the plan for the construction of the roof of the chapel, designed by Vladimír Androvič, began to be implemented. The roofing also required an extensive reconstruction of the chapel itself at high cost. The inhabitants of Dubie contributed the most to its financing, and those who live in Kysucké Nové Mesto and Rudina also contributed. The project involved more than half of the families, either in the form of volunteer hours, material or financially. Tatiana and Ľubomír Jánoškas, Peter Michný, Ján Pavlus, Francka Šidlová, Edo Mazur, Ján Kucharčík, Vladimír Macášek and Jozef Tomica were mainly behind this activity. Their activity was also supported by the Parish Office of St. Jakuba, the town of Kysucké Nové Mesto and local natives who no longer live in Dubie.
The work on the chapel lasted about a year. After the project drawings were prepared and the terrain was reconstructed, preparatory work was performed, such as liquidation of overgrown trees, grubbing of old roots, breaking of old and unusable concrete elements, liquidation of the old tool warehouse and removal of construction waste. This was followed by repairs of electricity distribution, insulation and related work on the facade, replacement of windows, doors and coverings, laying of tiles, painting and cleaning the interior. The project envisaged the expansion of the chapel by the addition of two rectangular wings in the manner of a gazebo, which was also realized. In the front roof part of the gazebo protrusion, there is a square turret on four supporting beams terminated by a pyramidal roof. There is a bell – a death knell, which was transported here from the Chapel of St. Cross – extensions Church of St. Jakub in Kysucké Nové Mesto. The bell is simple, without inscriptions and dates, the mantle on the outside is smooth, without any embossed elements and is attached to a new oak curtain. The diameter of the wreath is 232 mm, the height without the boat handle is 210 mm and the weight is 8.8 kg. The BOROKO company made a new oak curtain, cleaned the bell and adjusted its heart. All this free of charge.
In addition to the original sculpture of Christ and the painting of the Seven Painful Virgin Mary, the chapel has several interesting artistic elements after reconstruction. On the roof of the turret is a cross, from which grow two oak leaves, forming a heart when viewed from a distance. This artistic element was made of stainless steel and its production was carried out using the most modern engineering production methods, including the use of a laser. The technology used is intended to symbolize the engineering maturity of Kysúc. The author of the proposal is Ing. Ľubomír Jánoška. The other two artistic elements are the joint work of the local artist Mgr. Ľubica Šusteková and carver Milan Back. In the first case, it’s the heart on the door. It is a wooden heart sculpture composed of two parts. Thicker with a wound symbolizes God’s suffering, while thinner symbolizes our human hearts sharing the same destiny. The location of the heart on the door of the chapel symbolizes on the one hand the openness of the heart at the entrance to the building, on the other hand the farewell and handing over the heart at the funeral.
The second work of art is a wooden cross, which is in a modern design and is inspired by Gothic. The dominant feature is the sculpture of the crown of thorns, which is the transformation of the body of Christ on the cross. The portrait of the Virgin Mary is shrouded in light blue symbolizing innocence. In contrast to St. The Mother of God is St. Mary Magdalene is dressed in red – gold clothing, which is to underline and symbolize suffering. The cross is made of ash wood and the crown of thorns is made of linden. The blessing of the chapel took place on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at the Holy Mass, which was celebrated by Dean ThLic. Peter Holbička. The chapel was symbolically handed over to the care of the town of Kysucké Nové Mesto.
-Mário Janík and collective
-Translation: Matúš Maljar-
