Basilica of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg is located on Nevsky Avenue, in the historical center of the city. The Catholic church on this site was founded in 1716, although the Baroque building that has survived to this day was built from 1738 to 1783. It is the largest Catholic church in Russia and one of the oldest.
Basilica of St. Catherine is the only church in Russia which Pope Francis awarded the status of a Minor Basilica in 2013. This is a very honorable status, and in Russia only one church is called a Basilica. There are 5 Great Basilicas in Catholicism – all of them are located in Italy and about 1200 churches around the world have the status of a Minor Basilica. In total, there are several million Catholic churches in the world.
For many centuries after the baptism of Russia according to the Byzantine rite, only Orthodox churches were built in Russia. There were no stone Catholic churches until the 18th century. Peter I understood the need to establish ties (trade and humanitarian) with Europe, so under him the construction of Catholic and Protestant churches in Russia began much more actively. In the first years, after the foundation in 1703, St. Petersburg was built by Italian architects, European merchants settled here, so the appearance of Catholic churches in the city was necessary.
Architect Domenico Trezzini was responsible for the general plan of the city. He founded the first Catholic Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in St. Petersburg at his own expense in 1716. The construction of the stone church of St. Catherine on Nevsky Avenue began in 1738 by decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The construction of the temple took a very long time. Initially, it was built by architect Jean-Baptiste Delamotte, and continued by Antonio Rinaldi. Changes were also made to the project.
As a result, the Basilica of St. Catherine was consecrated only in 1783 under Empress Catherine II. The temple has the shape of a Latin cross. The length of the nave is 44 meters, the width is 25 meters, and the height is 42 meters. The temple accommodates up to 2 thousand worshippers. The interior is made in the Baroque style, but it has not been preserved to this day.
In 1938, the Bolsheviks closed the Basilica of St. Catherine. The temple was used as a warehouse, and in 1947 there was a fire. In 1977, the city authorities decided to make an organ hall in it, but in 1984 there was another fire. In 1993, the destroyed building was transferred to the Catholic Church and restoration work began. They were completed only by 2013. After that, Pope Francis awarded it the high status of a Catholic basilica.
