Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Kolomyia

The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola is a Neo-Gothic Catholic church located in the city of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The Roman Catholic Church of Ignatius Loyola differs from other religious buildings in the city in terms of architecture. The history of this building began when in 1887 the wealthy leadership of the parish church of the Virgin Mary, the Polish community of the city, addressed the leadership of the Society of Jesus with a letter inviting Jesuit fathers to visit them and allowing them to build a church in the city. The agreement was signed in 1895. On 29.09.1985 a temporary chapel was opened. And on August 2, 1896, the cornerstone for the stone church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which is now used as a parish church, was consecrated. Although the construction of the shrine was completed on 31.11.1897, the finishing work continued until 1905.

The construction was carried out according to the project and under the direct supervision of engineer N. Kzyczkowski. The project estimate amounted to 50 thousand gold rynski. Many funds for the construction of the church came from wealthy Catholic families of Kolomyia. On October 1, 1897, the construction was completed, but finishing work continued until 1905. Almost immediately after the opening, the church was called the "lord's" church. This indicated that the majority of the parish was made up of wealthy families. The Jesuit fathers brought with them a large collection of church and secular books in various languages. Some of these books have been preserved and are now in the collections of the Kolomyia Museum. The missionary activity of the Jesuits in Kolomyia was not limited to education. They were engaged in charity work, worked in hospitals and correctional facilities. In order to improve the level of education and spread the Catholic faith among the women of Kolomyia, a separate building of a convent and a special school for the Ursuline Sisters was built in 1899. In addition to education and religion, the Ursuline Sisters were engaged in gardening and horticulture. Now this building houses the Kolomyia Hrushevsky Gymnasium, and the garden planted by the Ursuline Sisters still gives its fruits to the students of the gymnasium.

In 1946-1990 the shrine was closed (furniture warehouse). On 03.11.1990, the returned church was consecrated as a parish church, as the authorities gave the former parish church of the Mother of God (built in 1772 and rebuilt in 1830-1895) to the Greek Catholics.

A consecrated copy of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was installed in the main altar (the original was taken from the parish church to Poland in 1939, where it is now). Restoration work was carried out in the church, and the walls of the church were decorated with high reliefs of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. The pride of the church is the bell, which arrived from New York in 1995, was consecrated by Bishop Markian Trofimiak, and installed in the church tower.

On October 29, 2006, Cardinal Marian Jaworski consecrated the restored frescoes of the church.

Almost immediately after the opening, the church was called the "lord's" church. This indicated that the majority of the parish was made up of wealthy families. The Jesuit fathers brought with them a large collection of church and secular books in different languages. Some of these books have been preserved and are now in the collections of the Kolomyia Museum. The missionary activity of the Jesuits in Kolomyia was not limited to education. They were engaged in charity work, worked in hospitals and correctional facilities. In order to improve the level of education and spread the Catholic faith among the women of Kolomyia, a separate building of a convent and a special school for the Ursuline Sisters was built in 1899. In addition to education and religion, the Ursuline Sisters were engaged in gardening and horticulture. Now this building houses the Kolomyia Hrushevsky Gymnasium, and the garden planted by the Ursuline Sisters still gives its fruits to the students of the gymnasium.

The parish is served by diocesan priests, and Ursuline nuns from the Order of St. Ursula of the Roman Union also work there.