Bomonti Notre-Dame De Lourdes Church

Church History

Notre-Dame de Lourdes Georgian Catholic Church (Georgian: სსსსტამბოლის ქართველთა სავანელთა სავანელთა სავანე) was a historic parish of the Georgian Greek Catholic Church in the Bomonti neighborhood of the Şişli district of Istanbul.

 It was built in 1861 with the cooperation of Catholic priest Peter Kharischirashvili, who wanted to organize services in Georgian after the arrival of Georgian Catholics from the Caucasus to Istanbul. The church was restored in 1901. In the 1950s, about 10,000 ethnic Georgian Catholics lived in Istanbul.

Masses are now celebrated in the Latin Catholic rite and led by Salesian Fathers.

Features of the Church

There is a beautiful Latin-Georgian tombstone of the founder of the church. Since the church is Georgian, there is naturally a picture of St. Nino. Georgian Catholics "see the saint as one of their own", depicted in traditional Georgian or "French" dress.

On the main altar of the church is an icon of Mary with an inscription in Polish. In one of the back rooms there is an old tapestry depicting the burial of Jesus. In another room at the back is a small Turkish shrine dedicated to St. Rita of Cascia.