Selishche. St. Veronica's Church & the Bernardine Monastery.

The ruins of the former greatness of the church remain... But even in its dilapidated state, it impresses with its scale, in which the pompous features of the Baroque are still discernible. 

St. Veronica's Church was part of the Bernardine monastery complex. The construction was carried out with the money of Captain Jan Isaac Rogoza and Anthony Selyava and his wife from Polotsk. This church was consecrated in honor of St. Veronica, who, according to Catholic tradition, put a cloth on Christ's face to wipe his face on the way to the place of crucifixion. The "true image" of Jesus' face remained on this cloth. Some believe that the name Veronica came from the expression vera icon - "authentic image". This was called the "Veronica's veil" to distinguish it from other images of Christ.

The central facade of the temple is crowned by two towers. Sophisticated architectural plastic used to decorate it, but little remains of its former splendor. The walls are divided by wide pilasters and arched window openings. A three-nave basilica with a rectangular transept on the outside and a semicircular one in the altar part. In the very center are cylindrical arches supported by four pillars. The choir stalls are located on the arch, where the organ was previously installed. 

Of the five altars, the most striking, from an artistic point of view, can be called the altar of St. Anthony. It is this part that recalls the rich interior of the temple. There was a composition of sculptures that have not survived to this day. The building has a large underground system of rooms. The basements completely repeat the three-nave layout of the temple. There are two entrances. The largest room is located under the central nave. There is a well under the central part of the church.

Next to the church, a two-story L-shaped building has been preserved - this is the monastery building, which is also in disrepair. For more than a hundred years, the monastery developed and flourished, until 1823, when it was closed after the uprising. The church served as a place of secret meetings for like-minded Xenologists Kastus Kalinowski. The details of the uprising were discussed in the temple and clothes were sewn for the rebels.

If you believe the memoirs of the old-timers, the interior of the temple was very beautiful and rich. There was a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, as well as vestments for the liturgy of Catholic priests, embroidered with gold and silver, and some were even sewn from Slutsk belts. They say that the Germans took all this to Germany during the war. The Baroque organ was also not preserved - it was all looted and destroyed. At the same time, the roof and towers of the building were damaged, and the Soviet era completed the destruction of the shrine.

Despite the great destruction, the walls of the church look mighty and strong. People are cleaning around the church, and cute angels with pine branches are hiding in niches inside.

The church continues to slowly and surely collapse, and the plaque stating that it is a historical and cultural value of the Republic of Belarus does not help it in any way.