The original St. Anthony of Padua Cathedral was built in 1725 by the local Italian community of Istanbul, but later was demolished and replaced when it needed to widen the street with the current building.The current St. Anthony of Padua, along with its adjacent buildings on Istiklal Avenue was built between 1906 and 1912 in the Neo Gothic style, and was commisioned by the local Italian community of the city. The building was designed by the architect Giulio Mongeri. The Church was built in a courtyard, and the entrance of the church is on the main street between two apartments which were built to unkeep of money for the church expenses. In 1932 the church was honoured and accepted as basilica by Pope pius 11th.
When Pope John 23th was the Vatican’s ambassador to Turkey before being elected as pope, for 10 years preached in this church. The Pope is known in Turkey with the nickname “The Turkish Pope” because of his fluent Turkish and his often expressed love for Turkey and the city of Istanbul.
St. Anthony Of Padua Cathedral on Google Maps