Cathedral of Teresa of Ávila in Bjelovar () is the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

church of Diocese of Bjelovar-Križevci. It is located in the center of the town of Bjelovar, Croatia, on Eugen Kvaternik Square. Until 2009, when it became a cathedral, it was parish church. In 1761 Czech brothers Hubert and Ignatius Admiring, members of the church order

Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

who have been raising children and adolescents, came to Bjelovar. They found only a small chapel so they decided to build a brand new church. Foundations were laid on April 10, 1765, and the foundation stone on May 12. The church was built in 1770 and blessed on October 15, 1772 on Day of

St. Teresa of Avila ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

. Church tower was built in 1774. Bishop of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Josip Galjuf blessed the church on October 15, 1775. The church cares about 1000 people. Beneath the church are the underground corridors for burial but there were buried very few people. The church is named after St. Theresa of Avila, Spanish

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

and

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...

. She was the patron saint of the Austrian Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, which founded Bjelovar in 1756. The

1880 Zagreb earthquake The 1880 earthquake which struck Zagreb, and is also known as The Great Zagreb earthquake, occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.3 on 9 November 1880. Its epicenter was in the Medvednica mountain north of Zagreb. Although only one person was kill ...

damaged the church and rectory. The church was rebuilt by the architect

Hermann Bollé Hermann Bollé (18 September 1845 – 17 April 1926) was an Austro-Hungarian architect of Franco-German origin who practiced in Croatia (Zagreb and Slavonia), as well as parts of what is now Vojvodina in northern Serbia. Life He was born in ...

in 1888, and was rebuilt from the inside in 1896. The church of St. Teresa was the parish church for the whole town of Bjelovar and the surrounding area until 1980 when two parishes of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Annethey were founded. One

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

hit the church and killed three women on September 29, 1991, during the armed

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

in Bjelovar between the Croatian Army and JNA. Memorial plaque was erected on the church facade in honor of these three killed woman. On December 5, 2009,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

founded Diocese of Bjelovar-Križevci so the church became a cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjelovar Cathedral Bjelovar Basilica churches in Croatia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1770 Roman Catholic cathedrals in Croatia 1770 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 18th-century establishments in Hungary Buildings and structures in Bjelovar-Bilogora County 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Croatia Hermann Bollé buildings