Iglesia de San José · Gori, Georgia
Gori, the home city of José Stalin and the capital of the Shida Kartli region, houses a Catholic community of Latin rite with a documented presence since the 17th century, when Dominican and Franciscan missionaries evangelized the Caucasus region. The active parish of Roman rite in Gori is dedicated to San José; the ancient temple of the Holy Family, built between 1806 and 1810, was confiscated in Soviet times and delivered to the Georgian Orthodox Church. The parish belongs to the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus, based in Tbilis.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The Catholic presence in Gori dates back to at least 1628, when Father Ambrosio and his servant Petre came to the city to deliver to King Teimuraz I the relics of the martyr queen Ketevan; the cappuccino and Dominican missionaries made Gori one of their stable residences in the Caucasus during the 17th and 18th centuries.
- The historic temple of the Sagrada Familia was erected between 1806 and 1810 with a decisive contribution from the noble family Zubalashvili, mecenas of Georgian Catholicism; it was seriously damaged by the earthquake of 1920 and later confiscated by the Soviet regime, which destined it to the Komsomol concert room.
- After the dissolution of the USSR, the historic building was transferred to the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 1990s, in a process that affected at least five Catholic temples in Georgia - in Kutaisi, Gori, Batumi and Ivlita - whose return the Vatican continues to request from the Georgian Government.
- The present Catholic community of Gori belongs to the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus (Latin rite), erected on 30 December 1993 by decree Quo aptius of the Congregation for Bishops during the pontificate of John Paul II; its seat is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin in Tbilis.
- Georgia has a two-fold Catholic tradition: the Latin rite, present among Georgians of European origin and missionary workers, and the Armenian rite, adopted by Georgian Catholics in the 19th century when the zars banned the Byzantian rite from their Catholic subjects; in Gori both of them live together.
Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary
The Catholic parish of Latin rite of Gori, currently dedicated to San José, represents an uninterrupted missionary presence in the Caucasus since the 17th century. The ancient temple of the Holy Family (1806-1810), confiscated in Soviet times, was handed over to the Georgian Orthodox Church; the Catholic community is still active under the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus.
"St. Joseph, the custodian of the Holy Family, protects the faithful who live their faith among peoples from other traditions and keeps the Church that pilgrims in the Caucasus.
Is the advocation of the Virgin Mary of your people missing?
Si no encuentras la advocación mariana de tu ciudad o pueblo, cuéntanosla: la investigaremos para ubicarla y darla a conocer en este mapa del amor de la Madre por el mundo.
Propose an apvocation →