The Catholic parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria was founded in 1716; in 1738, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed a permit for the construction of the Catholic Church on Nevsky Prospect (Nevsky Prospect), but the construction was in progress with great problems. The initial project was developed by Pietro Antonio Trezzini, the work that began under his leadership was discontinued in 1751 after the architect’s departure to his homeland. An attempt to complete the construction in the 60s of the 18th century, made by the architect J. B. Wallen-Delamot, was also unsuccessful. All this time, the community served in a temporary church, the hall for which was equipped in a neighboring house (on the site of a modern house 34 on Nevsky Prospekt). Only in 1782 the construction of the temple was completed under the leadership of Italian architects Minciani and A. Rinaldi, the latter was the head of the community.
Church of St. Catherine is associated with the names of many prominent personalities. In 1798, the last Polish king Stanislav Augustus Poniatowski (subsequently reburied in Poland) was buried here, and in 1813, the French commander Jean Victor Moreau. The parishioner of the temple was the famous architect Montferrand, the builder of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Here he married and baptized his son. Here his body was buried after death, after which his widow took the coffin with the body of her husband to France.
The parishioners of the temple were a number of Russian nobles who converted to Catholicism: Princess Z. A. Volkonskaya, Decembrist M.S. Lunin, Prince I.S. Gagarin and others.
In February 1984, as a result of arson, a severe fire broke out in the building, which negated the work of restorers and finally destroyed the interior. The whole sculpture, the remains of murals, marble altars and the 12-meter body of the organ of the late 18th century perished in the fire. After that, the burnt temple stood closed, and the windows were boarded up. The rooms of the Museum of Atheism and private apartments were arranged in the monastery building.
The restoration of the normal activity of the Catholic Church in Russia began in the early 90s of the XX century. In 1991, the newly formed parish of St. Catherine was registered; in February 1992, the city authorities decided to return the church church. The parish has about a thousand parishioners
In 2013, the church was granted the status of a small basilica. She became the only basilica in Russia.
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