Information

The construction of a Catholic church in Tashkent was started in 1912 on the initiative of priest Justin Bonaventura Pranaitis, designed by the famous Polish architect Ludwik Panchakevich. The workers on the construction of the church were originally Catholic soldiers who served in Tashkent [1], later the builders were prisoners of war held near Tashkent, among whom were highly skilled engineers, sculptors and bricklayers. After the death in 1917 of Pranaitis and the architect Panchakevich, construction continued under the direction of the Catholic priest Boleslav Ruthenis. After the revolution and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks in Tashkent, construction was suspended mainly due to the lack of funds for construction. From 1925 to 1976, various enterprises were housed in an unfinished church, as well as a hostel and a warehouse. For the entire period until the temple was used for other purposes, all the sculptures that were in it were either stolen or destroyed. In 1976, after the authorities decided to restore the building, it was restored and transferred to the balance of the Ministry of Culture of the UzSSR. In 1981, the church building was declared an architectural and historical monument of Uzbekistan. In 1992, by decision of the authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the cathedral building was transferred to the Catholic parish of Tashkent. In 1993, the full restoration of the church building began under the guidance of architect Sergey Adamov and engineer Alexander Ponomarev. On October 22, 2000, the building of the resurrected Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was consecrated by Archbishop Marian Oles, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kazakhstan and Central Asia from 1994 to 2001. Currently, Sunday Mass in the temple is conducted in four languages: English, Russian, Korean and Polish. At the moment, there are 3 priests-monks of the Franciscan, 1 Franciscan monk and Bishop of the Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan, Fr. Jerzy Matsulevich, where his episcopal chair is located.