The Catholic church of St. Anthony of Padua can be found in the old town of Rethymnon, behind the old Venetian port.
The curch was built in 1897 and, despite of its small dimensions, the beautiful architecture and ne0-classical frontage makes it one of the towns’ great attractions.
There has been a Catholic community in Rethymno for many centuries, in fact at the time of the Venetian domination, it was the See of the Catholic Bishopric. The original Cathedral of St.Nikolas, was situated in the Fortezza, up on the hill. Later it was converted to the mosque of Ibrahim Han.
A small chapel was built in the Monastery of the Franciscan Capuchins in Mesologghiou street. This monastery was built by the Capuchin Friars at the time of the Turkish occupation in 1855. The Capuchin Friars, then, as now, served the Catholic community.
The local Catholics were eager to build a new churh an it was initiated and completed within one year in 1897. The new, bigger and impressive church of St. Anthony of Padua was built to serve the ever increasing number of worshippers at that time. This was possible with the help of the Catholic Polish soldiers brought to the island by the Great Powers of the time, in an attempt to keep peace between the Greeks and the Turks.
After WWII the church of St. Anthony was sealed for many years, due to its hazardous conditions. In the years 1982-1988 it was renovated and restored to its former glory with the help of locals and foreigners, chiefly from Switzerland. The determination and passion behind the renovation, however, must be attributed to the diocesan priest Fr. Andreas Marzohl from Lucern in Switzerland.
There are many Catholics in and around Rethymno. The majority of visitors to the church are the thousands of tourists who visit the town between the months of March and November. The church is open for worship all day, every day, for anyone wishing to visit the church, enabling St. Anthony to become a meeting point for people of different nationalities, joined in Faith.
Services are held: April-October Saturday (19:00) Sunday (10:00). November-March Saturday (18:00).
Messologhiou and Salaminos street, Rethymno. Tel.number 2831026416.
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