Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis
The Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis, the Church of Saint Joseph,is a basilica located on the corner of Eleftheriou Venizelou and Komninon Streets.
At the end of the 19th century, in the new city that started to develop in the old Dedeagatch, where the railway ended, many peoples and cultures met; Greeks, Turks, Armenians and Europeans. Each one of these communities built in the area each own church in order to serve its needs. The Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis was created by the city’s Catholic community, which consisted mostly of employees of consulates that were founded at the new port, as well as merchants and businessmen of the West who came here to do business with the East.
The Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis was built in 1901. It is a parish church, made of chiseled stone and it has three aisles with two rows of pillars made of green marble with a rich decoration. It is the only Catholic church in the Western Thrace. It has exceptional acoustics and after its renovation in 2006, it often hosts cultural events of religious character.
During the Bulgarian occupation in the early 20th century the Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis was destroyed and looted, but it recovered until after the end of World War II, when it was given to the Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki, due to lack of priests.
Since 1981, the Catholic Church of Alexandroupolis is subject to the Lazarist Monastery of Thessaloniki, who celebrate the Divine Liturgy here few times a year.
