Changes After Construction
After the demolition of the older church due to the new tramway line, a search began for a new site on the same street.
On August 23, 1906, the foundation stone was laid; construction stopped for a time because of financial difficulties, then resumed, and the building was completed.
The church was consecrated and opened for worship on February 15, 1912.
In 1932, it was elevated to the status of a “basilica.”
In 1949, an electronic organ was acquired and installed in the church.
In 1967, Pope Paul VI officiated a liturgy here.
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The church belongs to the Latin Catholic Church.
The building is also known as the “St. Anthony Basilica” and the “San Antonio Basilica.”
It is in the Neo-Gothic style; the interior has a Latin cross plan.
The building has a Romanesque crypt.
The central nave is approximately 50 m long and 9.80 m wide from the apse to the main entrance; the side aisles are 4.70 m wide.
The transept is approximately 29.20 m wide; the interior height is approximately 23 m.
The apartment blocks on the İstiklal Avenue façade were conceived together with the church complex in order to provide income for the church.
A. G. Roncalli, who was invited in 1932 and later became Pope John XXIII, preached here and presided over the Pontifical Mass.
