Virgin Mary Church of the Nativity - Buyukdere

Documented information about the Church of the Virgin Mary in Büyükdere dates back to 1807, when she was assigned to the Small Monastery Priests' Order Mission. In 1817, the church became a parish. In 1866, P. M. Giovanni Franconi replaced the old wooden church with a stone church dedicated to the "Nativity of the Virgin Mary".

Between 1880 and 1910, a very bright period, a boys' kindergarten run by monastic monks and a girls' school run by the Ivrea brothers were established.

During the First World War (1915 - 1918) the church was closed. It was reopened for worship at the end of World War II.

Our building was the seminary of the Friars Minor Conventual until the 1960s. In 1985 it was transferred to the "Focolari" Movement and in 1999 it was returned to the Friars Minor Conventual Order.