One of the architectural gems of St. Petersburg is the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, located at Nevsky Prospekt, 32-34. This unique architectural monument, one of the oldest non-Orthodox churches in Russia, was awarded the honorary title of "small basilica", awarded personally by the Pope. Nevertheless, for all its historical and artistic value, he had to endure many tragic events in his lifetime.
The beginning of the construction of the temple
The Catholic parish in St. Petersburg was founded in 1716 by order of Peter I, but the history of the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria (this is the full name of this temple) began only under the Empress Anna Ioannovna. In 1738, she issued a decree on the construction on Nevsky Prospekt, or, as they said then - in perspective, a temple for all who adhered to the Latin direction of Christianity.
Despite the fact that the order came fromthe very top, its implementation was extremely slow due to the many problems that the builders faced. The author of the initial project of the Basilica of St. Catherine was the Swiss architect Pietro Antonio Trezzini, a student and close assistant of his illustrious compatriot Domenico Trezzini, whose name in the Northern capital is associated with such architectural masterpieces as the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Summer Palace of Peter I and the building of the Twelve Collegia. However, in 1751, the architect was forced to return to his homeland, and with his departure, work was interrupted.
Completion of construction and consecration of the cathedral
For almost three decades, the building of St. Catherine's Basilica in St. Petersburg remained unfinished, and all this time, members of the city's Catholic community had to be content with a small prayer hall equipped in one of the nearby houses. By the way, in the early 60s, the famous Russian architect of French origin - J. B. Vallin-Delamote - attempted to complete the work he had begun, but, for various reasons, it was not successful.
Only the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi, who was a Catholic and led the community of his co-religionists in St. Petersburg, managed to put an end to this protracted construction. He and his colleague I. Minciani completed the construction, begun by Pietro Trezzini. In early October 1783, the Catholic church, which had been under construction for almost forty-five years, was consecrated in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria, who was a heavenlypatroness of Empress Catherine II who reigned in those years. Then he was given the status of a cathedral.
Big names related to temple history
The subsequent history of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg is associated with the names of a number of famous personalities who were its parishioners. Among them is the outstanding architect, creator of St. Isaac's Cathedral, Henri Louis de Montferrand. Under the vaults of the church, he got married, baptized his heir-son and was buried here before his body was taken to France.
Listing the most famous parishioners of the cathedral, one can recall the names of Russian nobles who converted to Catholicism. Among them are the Decembrist M. S. Lunin, Prince I. S. Gagarin, Princess Z. A. Volkonskaya and many other prominent representatives of Russian history. It would also be appropriate to name famous foreigners who were parishioners of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, and after their death were buried in it. This is Stanislav Poniatowski - the last monarch who sat on the throne of the Kingdom of Poland. From 1798 to 1938, his ashes rested under the slabs of the cathedral, and then, at the request of the Polish government and with the permission of I. V. Stalin, they were transferred to Warsaw.
The Russian Field Marshal of French origin Jean Victor Moreau, who was mortally wounded by an enemy core in August 1813, during the famous battle of Dresden, also found eternal rest here. At that fateful moment, he and Alexander I stood side by side on a hilltop,and, according to legend, seeing them through a telescope, Napoleon himself loaded the gun. After the death of the commander, the sovereign ordered that his body be delivered to the capital and buried in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Catherine.
Under the Franciscan friars
As in most of the largest Catholic churches in the world, the service in the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria throughout its history was carried out by representatives of various monastic orders. It is known that immediately after the completion of construction and subsequent consecration, it was taken over by the Franciscans, who preached apostolic poverty and considered themselves followers of St. Francis of Assisi. These mendicant monks owed their leading position to Empress Catherine II, who was very sympathetic to the main provisions of their teaching.
Jesuit Missionaries
Paul I, who succeeded her on the throne, held different views and in 1800 handed over the basilica to the Jesuits, who were closer to him in spirit and therefore enjoyed his patronage. However, they managed to stay within the walls of the cathedral for no more than a decade and a half. Engaged in extensive missionary activities, the monks of this order incurred the wrath of the next Russian monarch, Alexander I, who accused them of spreading Catholicism everywhere and trying to undermine the foundations of Orthodoxy. In 1816, he issued a decree on the expulsion of the Jesuits from St. Petersburg, and a little later they were forced to leave the Russian Empire altogether.
Under poweranother mendicant monastic order
But a holy place, as you know, is never empty, and in the Catholic Church of St. Catherine on Nevsky Prospekt, the disgraced Jesuits were replaced by Dominicans. They, like the Franciscans, called themselves mendicant preachers of the Gospel and guardians of the foundations of the true faith. Fate turned out to be more favorable to them - these followers of St. Dominic managed to hold their positions until 1892, after which the church was transferred to the management of the diocesan priests.
On the verge of severe trials
The turning point in the history of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine was due to the tragic events of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, not indulging in theological discussions, declared any religion "opium for the people" and began to pursue a policy of militant atheism. An era has begun in Russia that, according to historians, has produced more martyrs for the faith over the course of several decades than three centuries of persecution of the first Christians.
Return of barbaric times
The common fate was shared by the clergy of the Catholic Church on Nevsky. However, despite the repressions that many priests were subjected to, and the execution of the rector of the parish Konstantin Budkevich in 1923, religious life in it continued until 1938, after which closure and merciless looting followed. According to eyewitnesses, many icons and various church utensils, in whicheveryone was digging. But most of all, the hearts of the parishioners sank at the sight of the mountain of books, consisting of 40 thousand volumes, the famous cathedral library. This scene, worthy only of dark barbarian times, could be seen for several days.
A sad fate befell the rector of the church, the Dominican monk Michel Florent, who had been the only Catholic priest in Leningrad for the previous three years. In 1938, he was arrested without any reason, and later sentenced to death, which was quite common in those days. However, this time fate turned out to be favorable to the victim of Stalin's arbitrariness, and in 1941 the death pen alty was replaced by deportation from the country. On the eve of the war, Michel Florent was deported to Iran.
Post-war years
During the siege of Leningrad, the building of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, like most city buildings, was seriously damaged as a result of bombing and artillery shelling. However, it suffered the most damage in 1947, when a fire that broke out in it destroyed the details of the decoration that were still preserved by that time and rendered the pipes of a unique old organ unusable. Having somehow cleared the interior space, the city authorities used it as a warehouse.
An attempt to restore the cathedral building, but not as a cult object, but to create an organ music hall in it, was made in 1977. Then not only wereconstruction, but also full-scale restoration work, which lasted until February 1984, but the arson committed by someone's criminal hand completely destroyed the fruits of many years of work. The remains of the frescoes, the sculptural decoration of the hall and the 18th-century organ restored by that time were destroyed in the fire.
The return of the temple to believers
After that, the burned-out cathedral stood boarded up until 1992. Only after the process of revival of many fallen shrines began on the wave of perestroika, the city authorities issued a decision to transfer it to believers. Shortly before this, the parish of St. Catherine was formed, or rather, restored, the members of which were given what was once their property. New restoration and restoration work immediately began, due to the large volume and lack of funds, stretching for a whole decade.
In 2003, they were mostly completed, and at the same time the Catholic Church of St. Catherine (St. Petersburg) again opened its doors to its parishioners. Nevertheless, the process of its restoration continues to this day.
