Assumption of Mary Church, Iași

About

The Assumption of Mary Church (Romanian: Biserica Adormirea Maicii Domnului) is a Roman Catholic church located at 26 Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt Boulevard in Iași, Romania. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The first church on the site, with the same dedication, was made of wood and known as the Franciscans' Church (Biserica Franciscanilor).

A 1753 document, issued during the reign of Prince Matei Ghica, noted that a Catholic church had stood in Iași since the founding of Moldavia. In 1741, Grigore II Ghica donated two vineyards to the church. Three years later, Stanislau Jezierski, the Catholic bishop of Bacău, noted that the church was small and ready to collapse.

Rebuilt in 1763, it was destroyed by fire in 1766. The church was rebuilt in brick starting in 1782, and was blessed in 1789. The ceiling fell during the 1802 Vrancea earthquake, prompting repairs.

The fire of 1827, which affected much of the city, destroyed the roof, again necessitating work. In 1861, the priest Ioan Eugeniu Zapolski restored and expanded the church. In 1869, upon the request of Bishop Giuseppe Salandari, the interior was painted by a Franciscan friar from Italy.

Salandari was buried in the church...