People First

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, also known as Pius Church, was originally part of the Pius Institute, which housed a Jesuit monastery, a secondary school and a student residence. The foundation stone of the Neo-Romanesque church was laid in 1927, and the church was consecrated in 1930. Among its notable features are statues of Pope Pius X and Bishop Gyula Zichy, as well as a famous Angster organ built in Pécs. The building underwent extensive renovation in 2016. Due to its proximity to the University of Pécs, Masses are also regularly celebrated in English on Sundays.

The church's main entrance is not accessible, as it can only be reached by stairs. Wheelchair users can enter without steps through the rear entrance, which faces the car park. The main entrance has double doors, providing comfortable access when both leaves are opened. From there, visitors pass through the chapel to reach the main church, where the doorway also has double doors. There is a carpet in the chapel, but we did not find it to be an obstacle when moving around. The main nave has spacious aisles, and the carpet here does not hinder wheelchair movement either.

There are no tactile markings or contrasting colour markings to assist people with visual impairments, and no induction loop for people with hearing impairments.

The lyrics of hymns and church announcements are projected onto a screen.

Seating options include chairs with or without backrests, as well as fixed pews. The seats of the chairs with backrests are 43 cm high, while those of the backless chairs and pews are 48 cm high. To sit in the pews, visitors need to step up onto a 10 cm raised platform. Kneelers are also provided.

The toilets are located upstairs, and the church does not have an accessible toilet. The nearest accessible toilets are at the 400-bed hospital building and the Paulus Restaurant. Both are approximately 170 metres away and can be reached along an accessible route.

Website:
The website is partially accessible. Essential information is available in text format, and the website has a relatively simple structure. However, several accessibility issues and gaps in information remain, particularly for people with visual impairments who use screen readers. When accessing the website with a screen reader, users are taken directly to the church announcements, with no navigation menu available. Although the announcements have headings, making it relatively easy to navigate between them, the heading hierarchy is not logical. Apart from the announcements and contact details, only a few menu items are available. Images and illustrations do not have text descriptions for visually impaired users. Overall, unfortunately, the website is not accessible to users with visual impairments.

Getting there:
By bus, get off at the "Ifjúság útja" bus stop, served by routes 30, 30Y, 55, 103 and 109E. Buses in Pécs are accessible. From the bus stop, the church can be reached along an accessible pavement. The pavements are accessible, although there are minor defects in some places. Pedestrian crossings are accessible, but not all have tactile markings. The bus stops are also accessible.
By car: there are no designated accessible parking spaces in the enclosed car park next to the church. On weekdays, the car park can be used with permission by showing a disabled parking permit to the camera at the barrier. The car park is open at weekends, when vehicles can enter without permission.
Further along Ifjúság Road, there are five designated accessible parking spaces in front of the entrance to the 400-bed hospital building.