| Church of St. Anthony of Padua | |
|---|---|
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  Church of St. Anthony of Padua | |
| Location | Beyoğlu,Istanbul |
| Country | Turkey |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Giulio Mongeri |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1906 |
| Completed | 1912 |
The Church of St. Anthony of Padua (Turkish:Sent Antuan Kilisesi), alternatively known asSant'Antonio di Padova Church orS. Antonio di Padova, is the largestCatholic church inIstanbul,Turkey. It is located onİstiklal Avenue in theBeyoğlu district.
Together with the churches ofSt. Mary Draperis (also on İstiklal Avenue), and ofSS. Peter and Paul in Galata, it was one of three Levantine parishes in Beyoğlu. Today it is run byItalian priests. Saturday Mass in English begins at 19:00; Sunday Mass in Italian is at 11:30, in Polish at 11:30 in the crypt, in English at 10:00 and at 19:00 in Turkish; and Tuesday Mass in Turkish begins at 11:00. Weekday Masses are in English at 8:00 and in Turkish at 19:00.
The original Church of St.Anthony of Padua was built in 1725 by theItalian community of Istanbul, but was later demolished and replaced with the current building which was constructed on the same site. The current basilican church, along with the adjacent residential buildings (known as theSt. Antoine Apartmanları) was built between 1906 and 1912 inVenetian Neo-Gothic style, again by the city's Italian community (mostly made up of people ofGenoese andVenetian descent, the community amounted to about 40,000 at the start of the 20th century). The building was designed by theLevantine architectGiulio Mongeri, who also designed other important buildings in Turkey, such as the Maçka Palas inNişantaşı and the Neo-Byzantine Karaköy Palas bank building inKaraköy (Galata), Istanbul, as well as the first headquarters of theTürkiye İş Bankası inAnkara.
Pope John XXIII preached here for 10 years while he was theVatican's ambassador to Turkey before being chosen as pope. He is known as "the Turkish Pope" because of his fluency inTurkish and his oft-expressed love for Turkey and for Istanbul in particular. Astatue of him is installed in the church's courtyard.
Since 2016 a legal battle has raged over the church[1] which has been put up for sale by a man claiming to act for the site's legal owner.[2] According to news reports, Sebahattin Gök obtained a power of attorney from the owners of the land and then attempted to sell it before lawyers acting on behalf of the Vatican took steps to prevent the sale.[1]
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41°01′57″N28°58′35″E / 41.0325°N 28.9764°E /41.0325; 28.9764
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