Descent of the Holy Spirit Parish (Bohuslav)

The first wooden Roman Catholic Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Bohuslav was built near the market square in the town centre in 1789, at the expense of Franciszek Rzewuski. Unconfirmed reports, however, suggest that a Catholic place of worship existed here as early as 1654. On 30 August 1817, the church burned down in a fire that swept through the town centre.

In 1819, construction of the present masonry church began on the outskirts, funded by Aleksandra Branicka and her son Władysław. The church was then dedicated to St Ladislaus. A parish house was built alongside it, and a parish school for children opened. During the turbulent 1920s, the Bolsheviks looted and closed the church, destroyed its dome and crudely remodelled it. Most local Catholics fell victim to repression.

Before the Second World War, the church premises were used for education and manufacturing and, for a time, as a nursing school. After the war, a carpet workshop occupied the building. The situation did not improve even after the fall of Soviet rule: another manufacturing operation opened there in 2004.

In 2008, Roman Catholics began demanding the restoration of their lawful ownership of the church. A local religious community was registered in October 2009, and the building’s owner allowed it to hold services there. In October 2012, a statue of the Virgin Mary was solemnly transferred to the church from a chapel in an apartment in the former priests’ house. On 19 May 2013, a cross installed on the church building was blessed.