The Assumption of Mary Church () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located at 26 Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt Boulevard in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is dedicated to the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

. The first church on the site, with the same dedication, was made of wood and known as the Franciscans' Church (''Biserica Franciscanilor''). A 1753 document, issued during the reign of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Matei Ghica, noted that a Catholic church had stood in Iași since the founding of Moldavia. In 1741,

Grigore II Ghica Grigore II Ghica (1695 – 3 September 1752) was Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia at four different intervals — from October 1726 to April 16, 1733, from November 27, 1735 to 14 September 1739, from October 1739 to September 1741 and from May 1747 ...

donated two vineyards to the church. Three years later, Stanislau Jezierski, the Catholic bishop of

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

, noted that the church was small and ready to collapse. Rebuilt in 1763, it was destroyed by fire in 1766. The church was rebuilt in brick starting in 1782, and was blessed in 1789. The ceiling fell during the 1802 Vrancea earthquake, prompting repairs. The fire of 1827, which affected much of the city, destroyed the roof, again necessitating work. In 1861, the priest Ioan Eugeniu Zapolski restored and expanded the church. In 1869, upon the request of Bishop Giuseppe Salandari, the interior was painted by a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar from Italy. Salandari was buried in the church upon his death in 1873, as were eleven other bishops and priests. The south wall of the church features a sundial that seemingly dates to 1813. Until the early 19th century, the building was used as a monastery, and was the center of the Franciscan mission. It became a cathedral when the Iași Diocese was set up in 1884. Built in the Baroque style, the church has a single cylindrical spire, tall and supple, above the entrance; this is also the bell tower. The exterior is plastered with stone dust, but has no special ornamentation. The interior features three marble altars. There is a classical organ with 21 sonic registers, made in Austria. Work on the much larger Our Lady Queen of Iași Cathedral began in the 1990s, and the older building was relegated to a parish church in 2005, when the new cathedral was inaugurated. Cătălina Mihalache
History
at the Iași County Cultural Office site The church is listed as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Iași
/ref> File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iaşi24.jpg, Sundial File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iaşi2.jpg, Entrance File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iaşi8.jpg, Side view File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iasi32.jpg, Interior File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iaşi13.jpg, Grave of

Mihai Robu Mihai Robu (10 April 1884 – 27 September 1944) was a Romanian cleric, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iași. Born in Săbăoani, Neamț County, He entered the Roman Catholic Theological Institute of Iași in 1894, being ordained deacon ...

File:Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Iasi31.jpg, Pulpit

Notes

{{coord, 47.16006, 27.58369, format=dms, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title Religious buildings and structures in Iași Historic monuments in Iași County Roman Catholic cathedrals in Romania Former cathedrals in Romania Churches completed in 1789 18th-century churches in Romania 18th-century establishments in Moldavia