Church of St. Pacifico in Buyukada - Buyukada
Church History
Among the dozen churches and monasteries of various denominations on Buyukada, the largest of the Prince Islands, whose ancient Greek name is Prinkipo, is the beautiful Latin Catholic church of St. Pacifica (St. Severinus).
Since the early 19th century, the Franciscans of the Church of St. Mary Draperis in Beyoğlu, Istanbul - Draperis being the name of the family who donated the land on which the place of worship is located - have been holding Sunday services for their faithful in Büyükada during the summer months. The construction of this place of worship began in 1885, after obtaining permission from the administrative services of the Ottoman Empire, and was financed by an Italian banker, Ignazio Corpi. The work was commissioned to an Italian architect named Giacomo Leoni, who also built the banker's palace in Tepebaşı and his villa in Büyükada.
| Opening time: | Closing time |
Tuesday | 10.30am | 12pm |
Saturday (June - September) | 18.30pm | 20pm |
Sunday morning | 10.30am | 12.30pm |
Mass Times
-
Tuesday:
Turkish 11:00 -
Saturday:
(June-September only): Italian / Turkish 11:00 -
Sunday:
Turkish 11:00
Archbishop Rotelli celebrated the first mass here on September 26, 1886.
Monsignor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, was Apostolic Delegate in Turkey from 1935 to 1944. Roncalli had a summer house in Buyukada and regularly came to celebrate mass at the nearby church.
Features of the church
Located in the center of the village, a few hundred meters from the pier, the church goes unnoticed by most tourists.
After passing through a heavy iron gate crowned with a cross and the hand of St. Francis of Assisi holding the hand of Jesus, the façade of the church is seen at the end of the garden.
Two statues stand out: on the right, St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, and on the left, St. Francis. Above the stained glass windows of the door is the same symbol as on the portal. The neo-Gothic church of San Pacifico has a magnificent wooden ceiling and interesting paintings and sculptures. There is a painting depicting John XXIII commemorating his celebrations at Saint-Pacifique.
Given the large Christian community on the island at the time, there was a Franciscan fraternity offering daily mass until about 1950.
At least one priest lived on the island after this date, but there was no permanent priest in Saint-Pacifique for 25 years.
For the last twenty years, however, Franciscan friars from Istanbul have been living here for three summer months and celebrating Mass several times a week.