The Cathedral of St. Theresa of Avila (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and , ) is a

Latin Catholic The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

located in

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, the seat of the Diocese of Subotica. It is dedicated to

Saint Theresa of Avila In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

History

The cathedral was built between 1773 and 1779 in the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. At the time, Subotica was part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. The building was designed by architect Franz Kaufmann from Pest. The altar is decorated with several paintings by Josef Schoefft, one painting of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

by Kasper Schleibne, and one painting of the

True Cross According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the real instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified. It is related by numerous historical accounts and Christian mythology, legends ...

by Emmanuel Walch. The building is long and wide. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is tall, while the bell towers are tall. On the roof of the building, between the two bell towers, is a statue of

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

was built in 1808. The pipe organ was installed in 1897 and renovated in 1997. New renovation works are planned for 2015. The whole interior of the church was renovated in 1972-73 for the bicentennial of the building. The building was declared the

Monument of Culture of Great Importance Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance (/) are those objects of Immovable Cultural Heritage of Serbia, cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection in the Republic of Serbia. Immovable Cultural Heritage is classi ...

in 1973. Pope

Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

granted the title of

to the cathedral on 29 April 1974. There is a bust of Aleksandar Lifka in front of the church.

References

External links

Official web site
{{commons category, Catholic cathedral of St. Theresia of Avila (Subotica) Cathedrals in Vojvodina Roman Catholic cathedrals in Serbia Buildings and structures in Subotica Roman Catholic churches in Vojvodina Cultural Monuments of Great Importance (Serbia) Baroque church buildings in Serbia 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Serbia

History

See also

References

External links