Sacred Heart of Jesus Church Jesuit

"Beautiful church in the city center. However, the gates were closed, so couldn’t check out how it is on the inside."

Mariya Tuzyk

"It's is beautiful church in city, however I didn't went inside, but the view of church is so beautiful,The beginning of this Cathedral's history dates back to 1870s when the number of Jesuits in Chernivtsi started gaining momentum. In 1875 Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, the Arbishop, officially referred to the Jesuit Community asking to promote Jesuit Fathers in the city.

In 1885 Father Symon Tychowsky was appointed as the main Jesuit priest in Bukovyna. First, worships were conducted in a chapel, however, as the number of followers was growing, the need for the dedicated cathedral became urgent.

After the municipality granted the land plot relevant for the construction project, Prof. Josef Leitzner from Chernivtsi High Industrial School developed the design. Initially the required amount was estimated as 160 thousand crowns but the final sum, including the purchasing and installing of sculptures, bells, big organ and the priest's residence built on the rear side totalled 208 thousand crowns.

The completed Cathedral was consecrated on June 7, 1891. On June 21, 1895 the structure was given its Jesus Heart name.

When Bukovyna became Romanian after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Cathedral continued its service and even managed doing that after the area became part of Soviet Ukraine in 1940-1941. During the World War II its priests saved a number of Jews who had to formally change their creed to avoid deportation to Ghetto by Nazis.

After the Soviet power returned in 1944, the Cathedral continued to function as a Jesuit sanctuary for one year. In 1945, for unclear reasons it was given to the orthodox community but one year later its religious function discontinued at all. For nearly half a century it was used as the Oblast Archive Office. In 1996 the local community initiated its return to the Jesuit followers and in 2010 it was finally returned to the community. Currently the Cathedral is in the process of renovation the cost of which is estimated as a minimum of €4 million and will thus last for a significant period of time."

Ankush Thakur

"The only church building in the city probably in the gothic style. I was pleasantly surprised to see it as I’m not a big fan of Eastern Orthodox architecture. This is good example of western culture."

Michael Hrisca