St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Grodno

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (Belarusian: Кафедральны касцёл Святога Францішка Ксаверыя; Polish: Bazylika katedralna św. Franciszka Ksawerego w Grodnie) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Grodno, Belarus. Originally a Jesuit church, it became a cathedral in 1991, when the new diocese of Grodno was erected. Nowadays it is one of only three minor basilicas in Belarus.

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis Xavier
Катэдральны касцёл Святога Францішка Ксавэрыя
A view of the cathedral
LocationGrodno
CountryBelarus
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusActive
Founded1687
Consecrated1705
Architecture
Functional statusCathedral
StyleBaroque architecture
Administration
DioceseRoman Catholic Diocese of Grodno
Clergy
Bishop(s)Aleksander Kaszkiewicz
Interior of the cathedral

History

The construction of the church started in 1687, when the city was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The completed building in Baroque style was consecrated in 1705 to St. Francis Xavier. Sixty meters in length and thirty meters wide, it became one of the largest in Europe. The monastery was dissolved in 1773 and the church became a parish one. The church survived World War II with no serious damage.[1]

In 1960 it was officially closed for public religious services (for 27 years). The Soviet authorities tried to convert the building into a museum or a concert hall. Despite this, people attended the church every Sunday for a common prayer, songs and rosary. The religious services were restored in 1987. In 1990 the church was granted the title of minor basilica, and a year later it became a cathedral for a diocese of Grodno.

See also

Sources
  • А.А. Ярашэвіч, В.Дз. Бажэнава. Гродзенскі кафедральны касцёл святога Францыска Ксаверыя — Мінск: Беларусь, 2005. (In Belarusian)
  • Szulakowska, Urszula (2018). Renaissance and Baroque Art and Culture in the Eastern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1506-1696). Cambridge Scholar Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 978-1-5275-1135-4.

  1. Szulakowska 2018, p. 324.
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