About the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Saint Esprit Cathedral) in Istanbul, Turkey:
One of the more famous Catholic churches in Istanbul in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Saint Esprit Cathedral)
Construction began in 1845 and took one year to complete. Following an earthquake in 1865, the cathedral was badly damaged. Restoration began in June of the same year and the church reopened for service a few months later in December. It has undergone several restorations, receiving three new bells hammered in Fermo, Italy in 1922 and having all its paintings restored by late Bishop Antoine Marovitch in 1980.
The cathedral’s administrative rights were entrusted to the Salesians of Don Bosco on October 9, 1989.
The interior of the basilica is beautifully decorated with frescoes. The richly decorated ceiling runs until the altar, situated just across the main door.
The bell tower, at one of the Holy Spirit’s corners overlooks Ölçek Sokak (street) which also goes by the name Papa Roncalli Sokak since the year 2000, when Mustafa Sarıgül, Mayor of Şişli, dedicated it to the “friend of the Turks” Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who had been the Apostolic Delegate, i.e. Ambassador of the Pope, in Turkey from January 1935 to December 1944.
The Holy Spirit’s courtyard houses a bronze statue of Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922) built by the Turkish state in 1922 in remembrance of his support to Turkish soldiers. The statue rests upon a stone pedestal with a plaque that reads: “Benefactor of all people, regardless of nationality or religion”. Pope Benedict XV presided over the Catholic Church between 1914 and 1922, and is known for his efforts to stop World War I. He also contributed to the establishment of a hospital on the Turkish-Syrian border where wounded Turkish soldiers were treated. The statue was cleaned by Istanbul Greater Municipality in 2006 shortly before Pope Benedict XVI visit to the city. Sultan Mehmet VI is believed to have contributed 500 gold liras to the funds collected for the erection of the statue.
The cathedral’s burial crypt was designed during the construction of the cathedral to house the mortal remains of various members of Istanbul’s Catholic community, including nuns from Notre Dame de Sion and the Archbishop Hillereau.
The cathedral has been a destination of several papal visits to Turkey, including those of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Francis visited the cathedral on November 29, 2014, and celebrated mass for a thousand people. He also came on November 30, celebration of Saint Andrew, to meet more than a hundred Iraqi and Syrian refugees as well as African migrants.
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Traveling to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Saint Esprit Cathedral) in Istanbul, Turkey:
The Cathedral is just across the street from the Istanbul Hilton. If you happen to stay there, get a room facing the Bosphorus…one of our favorite views of Istanbul.
Address: Cumhuriyet Cad. No: 127 A, 34373 Harbiye − Istanbul
Tel: +90 (0)212 − 248 09 10 Fax: +90 (0)212 − 232 40 44
e-mail: donboscoturchia@yahoo.it