Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Istanbul)
The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit ( Italian Cattedrale di Santo Spirito or Cattedrale dello Spirito Santo , Turkish Saint Esprit Kilisesi ) in Cumhuriyet Caddesi 127 / B of the Elmadağ district in the Şişli district , the former Harbiye , between Taksim Square and Nişantaşı , is one of the main Catholic churches in Istanbul . The church is the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate Istanbul . It is the second largest Roman Catholic church in the city after the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua on İstiklâl Caddesi in Beyoğlu .
The Holy Spirit - Cathedral in 1846 under the direction of Ticino architect Giuseppe Fossati and his colleague Julien Hillereau built. It is a neo - baroque three - aisled basilica with marble columns and coffered ceilings based on the model of Roman churches such as Santa Maria in Aracoeli or Saint Paul Outside the Walls .
The cathedral was visited by several popes during their stays in Turkey, including Paul VI. , John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Pius X gave it the rank of minor basilica in 1909 . Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , who later became Pope John XXIII, served as Vicar Apostolic here from 1935 to 1944.
A statue of Pope Benedict XV stands in the inner courtyard of the church. Giuseppe Donizetti ( Donizetti Pascha ), a musician at the court of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II , is buried in the crypt of the church.
The Caritas center in St. Esprit's Cathedral has been used daily for years for the refugee work of the nearby Convent of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Web links
- Representation on the page of the Apostolic Vicariate Istanbul
- Haaretz article about the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. on Haaretz.com ( Memento from August 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive (English)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 41 ° 2 ′ 41 ″ N , 28 ° 59 ′ 8.3 ″ E