The Catholic Church (; ) is a church in

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: (; or , , ) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2021, its estimated population was 52,359. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the area inhabited by "Free Dacians", away from the h ...

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 ...

. In 1241 the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to the Holy Cross was demolished during the

Mongol invasion of Europe From the 1220s to the 1240s, the Mongol Empire, Mongols conquered the Turkic peoples, Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania and Iranian peoples, Iranian state of Alania, and various principalities in Eastern Europe. Following this, they began ...

, which was rebuilt in 1246 by Transylvanian bishopric. In 1527

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

reached Zilah (

) and the Catholic Church lost its property in 1542. The Protestant domination lasted for 123 years, during which period the Catholic faith stopped to exist in the city. In 1742 András Nagy invited Minorite priests to Zilah, however, they were driven away by Calvinist statesman

Miklós Wesselényi Baron Miklós Wesselényi de Hadad (; archaically English: Nicholas Wesselényi;Robert J. Hunter : Racing Calendar - Page xxv 1842 20 December 179621 April 1850) was a Hungarian statesman, leader of the upper house of the Diet, member of the Bo ...

. In 1748 there were only 7 Roman Catholic believers in the city. In 1752 a parson was appointed again, and in 1784 the court of Vienna allowed to build a Catholic chapel in Zilah. The foundation stone of the present church was laid down in 1878, and the constructions, that was carried out by the plans of

István Jenei István Jenei (21 May 1953 – 25 February 2011) was a Hungarian sports shooter. He competed in the 50 metre running target event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympia ...

, took 4 years to finish.

References

External links

Zalău, Catholic church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church, Zalau Religion in Zalău 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Romania Monuments and memorials in Zalău Roman Catholic churches completed in 1884 Churches in Sălaj County Historic monuments in Sălaj County