The Church of St. Carl Borromeo in Pinsk

Pinsk is one of the most ancient towns in our country. It is not surprising, as the first mentioning of it refers to 1097. You surely know that Pinsk is situated on the bank of the Pina River that is a left tributary of the Pripyat River. According to different sources, it takes its name after the name of the river that, in its turn, comes fr om the word «pin» that means «a stop, landing place». Historically, the town of Pinsk is favorably situated on the intersection of trade routes. It was in the possession of numerous states that has influenced architectural styles of buildings and cultural places.

Amongst architectural monuments, the Church of St. Carl Borromeo deserves special attention. It is known that originally the church was a wooden buil «ing constructed in 1695 for Soviet priests that had come to Pinsk from Italy. It is interesting that those Soviet priests were also called «communists». They identified themselves as «secular priests living in the commune» and educated young people and those who wanted to devote themselves to the service of God. It is known that they maintained some schools and seminaries. According to historical sources, secular priests appeared only in Pinsk and it was the only town in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania wh ere that Order was present.

Later, the wooden church was substituted for a stone one. It was constructed in the period 1770-1782 with the secular priests donations; and two years later, in 1784, the church was consecrated in honor of St. Carl Borromeo, a Roman Catholic Cardinal. He was one of the few eminent figures in Catholicism that took part in the church reformation and fought for the moral renewal of the church. He was canonized in 1610.

According to historical data, the Church of St. Carl Borromeo has been neglected for a long time since 1836 as at that time the priests-communists permanently ceased their activity. In 1860, when the donations for the opening were raised, the Church of St. Carl Borromeo was restored, opened and consecrated but under the name of the Holy Trinity. The church had functioned as an independent church before 1912, but then it was joined to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, the main Catholic Church in Pinsk. Interestingly, the building was used as a church up to 1960-s. The restoration of the church was held in 2013, but it was not returned to the church. And there is the Chamber Music Hall now.

The Church of St. Carl Borromeo deserves equal attention not only historically but also in architectural terms because it is a bright example of Baroque art of building. It is not only due to two meter-high walls with narrow loopholes, but also to the tower that looks like bond maiden by its dimensions thanks to underground tunnels. Unfortunately, due to the fact that today the church is not used as a prayer place, the inner decoration has not survived.