Description of the attraction
The Church of the Virgin Mary of the Angels and the Franciscan monastery in Grodno were founded in 1635 by pious spouses - the commandant of Vilna and the governor of Vitebsk Eustachy Kurcha and his wife Suzanne, who came from the old Tyshkevich family.
The first monastery on the left bank of the Nemunas was made of wood. The Church of the Holy Virgin Mary of the Angels was built at the monastery. This wooden monastery and church burned down during the Russian-Polish war in 1659. For the restoration of the monastery and the church in 1660, funds were donated by the Vilna voivode Mikhail Pats and the Grodno sub-table Gedeon Khlyadovitsky.
In 1759, the Franciscan monastery and the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Angels were badly damaged during a fire and were rebuilt at the expense of the castellan Mstislavl Constance Lozova. In 1853 the Russian authorities closed the monastery and used it as a prison until 1919.
An amazing fact - in Soviet times, the monastery remained a functioning Franciscan Catholic monastery. In 1992, the Franciscans returned to the city and helped rebuild the monastery.
The greatest Christian shrine remains in the church to this day - the miraculous icon of the Holy Virgin Mary of the Angels, to which many pilgrims come to worship.
The church was built in the form of a three-aisled basilica, forming a closed courtyard. The three-tiered belfry has a separate entrance. The interior of the temple is distinguished by incredible artistic expressiveness and richness of decor. The two-tiered altar includes carved wooden statues of saints and biblical scenes.
