Grodno. Franciscan church and monastery.

The Franciscan church is located on Ogorodnaya Street, on the opposite bank of the Neman from the historical center of Grodno. The monastery complex includes a church, a residential building (today it is one of the buildings of the City Clinical Hospital No. 2 of Grodno) and a gate with a fence, which is a closed courtyard.

The Franciscan order is considered to have been founded in 1208. Its founder was Saint Francis of Assisi. The monks of the order preached asceticism, life in poverty, love and mercy for one's neighbor. The Franciscan monks were invited to Grodno by the Upitsa elder Eustachy Kurch, who admired the ideas of sacrifice. (Upitsa district was an administrative-territorial unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th-18th centuries).

In 1635, Eustachy and Susanna Kurch founded a wooden church and monastery of the Franciscans. Four years later, the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Vladislav IV Vasa confirmed the foundation of the shrine. As a result of the Polish-Swedish war, in 1659, the temple was destroyed. A year later, construction of a stone church and monastery began. In 1697, the Bishop of Vilnius created a parish at the monastery. In 1753, a fire broke out and the monastery complex was severely damaged. The Franciscan monks began to restore their church and made it even more beautiful. A three-nave basilica with a bell tower appeared, which was added on the left side. In 1759, the tower was made 4 m higher and topped with a small rococo helmet, on which a gilded cross was placed. The tower, which served as a bell tower, had three bells and a clock in 1799. The entire roof of the Catholic church was covered with tiles.

The entire church, including the main altar, was dedicated to Our Lady of Angels. Two tiers could be distinguished in the stone altar slab: below was a tabernacle with beautiful external decorations, in the middle - completely gilded. Above the tabernacle in the center was a scene of the coronation of Our Lady surrounded by angels. In the upper tier was a scene of the stigmatization of St. Francis. In the side naves were placed 8 altars dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Crucified Jesus (bas-relief), St. Bonaventure, St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Joseph, Beloved of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Our Lady of Sorrows (bas-relief) and St. Michael the Archangel.

The temple was decorated with rich stucco decorations, sculptures and ornaments covering the columns, walls and vaults. On the walls of the shrine there were 9 icons, which depicted the benefactors of the monastery and the church with their families and honored Franciscan monks. The organ complex, where a 12-voice organ appeared in 1750, was also decorated in the Baroque style. The famous patroness of the arts Konstancja Michalina Lozovaya helped to acquire it. Now it is the oldest organ in Belarus.

In 1864, a prison was created in the building of the Franciscan monastery for priests and monks for their patriotic activities and other offenses against the Soviet authorities. The prison in the monastery continued to function until 1919, when only three exiled priests remained. The Franciscans returned to Grodno in 1919, and the monastery became active again.