The Church of the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception ( az, Müqəddəs Bakirə Məryəm kilsəsi, russian: Церковь Непорочного Зачатия Пресвятой Девы Марии) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. The original church also named Church of the Immaculate Conception operated from 1915 to 1931, when it was ordered destroyed by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

government. In 2006, a new Catholic church bearing the same name was rebuilt in a different spot of Baku. On 29 April 2007 the new church was consecrated by Apostolic Nuncio in Transcaucasia Monsignor Claudio Gugerotti.

History

In 1997, the Catholic community of Baku was re-established. In 2000, the

Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan The Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan is a Roman Catholic Apostolic Prefecture (missionary jurisdiction) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. It has one ...

was created. After Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's visit to Azerbaijan in 2002, it was granted land to build a new church. The cornerstone of the new church was blessed by

. The new Church of the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception was built in 2006, in a different spot of Baku according to the Italian architect

Paolo Ruggiero Paolo Ruggiero (born 26 September 1957, in Naples) is a General in the Italian Army and current Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia. Military career Ruggiero joined the military in the 1970's. He reached the rank ...

's project. The style of the building will be New Gothic and will in some ways recall the facade of the original church. The church was designed to have a pastoral center and a residency for priests. The statue of the Virgin Mary by local sculptors was set up over the entrance of the Church which has 200 benches. The church bells were a present from Lech Kaczyński, then President of Poland. On 29 April 2007 the Apostolic Nuncio in Transcaucasia Monsignor Claudio Gugerotti administered the rite of consecration of the Church. The church was then also dedicated on Sunday, March 7th, 2008 by

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, ...

References

External links

Catholic Church in Azerbaijan
Retrieved 2014-04-23 {{coord, 40.4167, N, 49.8833, E, source:wikidata, display=title Roman Catholic churches completed in 2006 21st-century Roman Catholic church buildings Roman Catholic churches in Azerbaijan Churches in Baku

History

See also

References

External links