Description of the attraction
The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is located in the central part of Kazan, at the end of Peterburgskaya Street. The first Catholic parish appeared in Kazan in 1835. It existed thanks to Polish priests. The parish did not have its own building, and services were held in different buildings of the city. The location of the Catholic parish changed frequently.
In 1855, a petition was filed by the priest Ostian of Galimsky with a request to build a Catholic church. The Catholic community was large enough and replenished regularly. Two years later, a positive decision was made, but with conditions: the temple should not have a typical Catholic appearance and should not differ from the surrounding houses.
Construction began in 1855. The author of the project was A. I. Sand. The temple was consecrated in November 1858 on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In 1897, the Kazan parish of the temple consisted of 1760 people. Among the parishioners were professors of Kazan University: O. Kovalevsky, N. Krushevsky and many other famous people.
By 1908, the building of the temple was rebuilt and re-consecrated. In September, a parish school was opened at the church.
After the revolution of 1917, all valuables were withdrawn from the church to help the starving in the Volga region, and in 1927 the parish was dissolved, the church was closed. The Catholic parish of Kazan was restored in 1995. The small Passion Chapel at the Arsk cemetery was handed over to the Catholics. The chapel was restored with funds donated by Catholic parishes in several countries. In September 1998, the chapel was consecrated by Bishop Clemens Pickel.
In 1999, the city authorities allocated a plot of land to Kazan Catholics at the intersection of Aydinov and Ostrovsky streets. Construction of the new church began in 2005. At the construction site, a mass was held to consecrate the keystone. It took three years to build the church. In August 2008, the church was solemnly consecrated. The consecration mass was conducted by Angelo Sodano, the dean of the college of cardinals, with Bishop Clemens Pickel and nuncio Antonio Menini. Several more bishops and priests took part in the mass.
The building of the temple was built in the classicism style. The project was based on the facade of the old Church of the Exaltation. The main facade of the building is decorated with a four-column portico, from the sides of which there are symmetrically two quadrangular two-tiered bell towers.
The interior of the temple is finished with white granite. The altar, pulpit and font are also white marble. There is a tall wooden cross in the presbytery. On either side of the cross are statues of Christ the Savior and the Virgin Mary. The statues were made by craftsmen in Poland. A beautiful Italian organ was installed in the temple.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross has become an adornment and landmark of Kazan.
