Church of Blessed Virgin Mary of Angels in Vinnitsa is a real pearl of the city. This temple of the order of Capuchin was built in 1745 and funds for the construction were allocated by Louis Kalynovsky, the mayor of Vinnitsa. Now we can see this magnificent building constructed in the style of Tuscan Baroque. The Church of the Virgin Mary was consecrated later, in 1761.

It is noteworthy that the Church was built at the moment when the Dominican monastery of Jesuits was already existed. One legend in Vinnitsa tells that under the city there are catacombs and secret passages connecting the buildings of the Church and Monastery.

If we talk about the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vinnitsa, it didn’t spare the fate of many cult buildings. The building of the Church many times changed its owners. It is worth noting that in 1888, the tsarist authorities closed the Church of the Capuchins, and it was turned into a barracks room. However, this does not mean that the Church was completely closed. There was still parish Catholic Church.

The Bolsheviks, which led the Soviet authorities, closed the Church in 1931 again. In the times of Patriotic war the city was headed by Germans, and then the Church was restored and opened again.

The next time the Church was closed, and in 1961 it began to work as a lecture hall on the decision of the Soviet authorities. Paradoxically, in the Church of Capuchin there were lectures on atheism. Only after the Soviet Union collapsed, in 1991 the Church returned to the Roman Catholic Church with the help of the Orthodox priests.

It is interesting that the Catholic Church was transferred to the Orthodox Church and the authorities gave it to the Catholics. Transfer of the temple was accompanied by many permutations as a result of which suffered old Vinnitsa organ, which was literally broken into the smallest pieces. Using some of the equipment and small pipes, which managed to save from the organ, Polish master organ Affairs Jerzy Kukla was able to assemble a new organ, which is present in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Angels. Organ concerts are held in the Church, beginning with 1999, and here perform the famous organists from all over the world. The new organ has an inscription with a deep meaning: «Die to resurrect».

On the 16th of October 2010 in Vinnitsa appeared a new landmark. The monument to late Pope John-Paul the IInd was opened on the territory of the monastery of the Order of friars minor Capuchins.

Note that the Pope, to whom the monument was erected, is a native of the Krakow province, and he became the first Pope of Slavic background for the last 455 years. Opening of the monument took place in honor of the anniversary of the day when Pope John Paul II led the Roman Catholic Church, and it happened on October 16, 1978.

The initiator of creation and installation of the monument in Vinnitsa was the Polish Consulate in Ukraine. Pope John Paul II had always been a supporter of a peaceful resolution of the dispute in the world and relied on the basics of ideology and religion. In addition, the Pontiff was a supporter of reforms and democratization. Pope John Paul II umbered among the blessed people.

The height of the monument to the Pope is 2.4 meters and it is made of an alloy, which looks like plastic. As noted brother Jousten, who is the Abbot of the monastery of the friars minor Capuchin, this monument is a sign of world recognition John Paul II as one of the most famous and prominent figures in the Roman Catholic community.

A festive mass was held before, and after the solemn opening the monument was consecrated. The opening ceremony of the monument to the Pope in Vinnitsa was attended by the delegation of Poland, headed by Minister of foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. So-called «papal concert» completed the opening of the monument, and it was attended by choirs from the Vinnitsa, as well as Krakow and Minsk. It is noteworthy that Pope John Paul II was a practically founder of the Krakow Church choir at a time when he was a cardinal.

 

Фото: Валерий Коретник