Church of Our Lady of the Holy Scapular, Sniatyn

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The Church of Our Lady of the Holy Scapular is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine in Sniatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine. It is an architectural monument of local importance. It was built in 1721. It is worth noting that the Catholic parish in the city was founded in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The date of foundation of the Church of Our Lady of St. Scapular of Mount Carmel in Sniatyn is unknown due to the destroyed documents. The greatest devastation for the town was caused by the Tatar hordes, wars, and partitions. Shrines were burned. The existence of a Roman Catholic parish in Sniatyn was "recorded" in 1558.

In 1843, construction of a brick church began on the site of the burned (possibly wooden) one. In its present form, the church was rebuilt and consecrated by Lviv Latin Archbishop Lukasz Baranetski in 1857. "The patrons of the church were the owners of Prot Potocki's 'credit mass', in particular, the owners of estates in the villages of Krasnostavtsi, Toporivtsi, Beleluia, and others (20 estates in total). A well-known writer, publisher, and honorary citizen of Sniatyn, Mykhailo Bazhansky, wrote about this Roman Catholic shrine that "the owner of the Polish church was Prot of Potocki." In 1888, the local proboch, msgr. Tomasz Stankowski brought the Felician Sisters to the parish. They established a guardhouse for the girls and a new chapel near the church.

Костел Матері Божої святого Скапулярію в Снятині

During the First World War, the church, plebeianage, and outbuildings were destroyed. With the advice and assistance of Bishop Bolesław Twardowski, Abbot Leopold Kaskiński began a thorough reconstruction of the shrine.

Between 1926 and 1936, two side chapels were built with voluntary donations, the presbytery was extended, windows were redecorated, the choirs were renovated and expanded, a new vestry was built, and the walls were painted. The bell tower remained unfinished due to soil subsidence. Several landslides have brought the church 15 meters closer to the ground and threaten to destroy the monument if they occur again. The foundations of the church are stone. The walls are brick and plastered. The roof is metal. On May 6, 1936, the main altar was consecrated.

At the end of World War II, on May 13, 1946, the city authorities closed the church, taking away the keys. On June 1, 1946, the priests left by the last transport, taking with them the revered image of the Mother of God of St. Scapularia. They stayed in Brzeg Dolny (Poland). To this day, this image unites them with their homeland. Later, the house of God served as a granary for storing grain, then for the employees of the regional power station, and then a smithy and a convoy service (ATK, where cars were painted) were located here. After the convoy service, the church premises were used by an orphanage until they were returned to the community.

On November 20, 1990, by the decision of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Executive Committee, the church was returned to the Roman Catholic community of Sniatyn in a terrible state. On May 22, 1993, the church was reopened in Sniatyn. Brothers and sisters of the faith of Christ came to the opening and consecration of the church. They were greeted and celebrated the Divine Liturgy by Archbishop Marian Yavorsky of Lviv and concelebrated by Dean Victor Antoniuk of Sniatyn. Archbishop Tadeusz Wojciechowski, a professor from Krakow and rector of the church until 1946, was very happy about this moment.

Снятинський Костел Матері Божої святого Скапулярію в середині

The opening of the church was attended by the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church (former residents of Sniatyn) from 14 cities of Poland, mainly from Krakow, Wroclaw, and Olawa. Through the efforts of Dean Viktor Antoniuk, together with the parishioners, the restoration of the church began. Priests Jan Radon, Jan Oliynyk, and Oleksandr Shcherbaty continued the restoration work, which continues to this day.

In 1995, a copy of the image of the Mother of God that had been taken to Poland returned to Sniatyn. The restoration of the shrine and the surrounding area continues to this day. The parish is served by the Missionary Fathers of St. Vincent de Paul, and nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. On May 27, 2018, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki proclaimed the local church the sanctuary of Blessed Marta Wiecka, who worked as a nurse in Sniatyn as a nun of the Sisters of Mercy, died sacrificially here, was buried in the local cemetery and beatified on May 24, 2008 in Lviv.

The church is a basilica, as evidenced by its rectangular layout and the presence of one nave. The temple is built of brick and is lined with a special coating on the outside. A small chapel is attached to the right side of the church. Nowadays, the church in Sniatyn is open to the public. The building is in good condition and is an architectural monument of local importance. The church in Sniatyn, as before, belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.

You should also visit the Church of St. John in Kukilnyky, the Church of the Assumption in the village of Lisets, the Church of St. Francis in Deliatyn.