The fate of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in the Belarusian city of Pastavy was full of all sorts of events and changes. So even experienced historians will not remember immediately when and to which church it belonged. Although the date of the foundation of the modern Catholic shrine is officially considered 1898, its history begins several centuries before that – in 1516, when the first wooden church of the Mother of God was built in its place. The monastery had served its parishioners for many years until the religious building with all its inventory was destroyed in the events of the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667.
In 1640, the decree of the royal secretary, Stanislav Benevsky, allowed the monks of the Franciscan order to build a monastery and a temple. The new shrine had pleased the citizens for more than a century until, in 1760, a powerful fire covered the city and burned the Franciscan church to the ground. Later, the monks built an even more majestic church with two high towers, which was destroyed as a result of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831.
Half a century later, the construction of the modern church of St. Anthony of Padua, which we see today, began. The neo-Gothic church of red brick was built by architect Arthur Goibel in 1904. Even though the church building belongs to the Catholic Church, its orientation does not correspond to the Catholic canons and traditions.
Even though the temple was made of stone rather than wood, it did not save it from being hit by shells during the First World War. The roof, walls, windows, and doors were badly damaged, and the main altar and ancient organs were destroyed. Even the metal fence did not survive. The church was restored during the years of Polish rule. After these lands had become part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, they were subject to certain restrictions. After the Great Patriotic War, the building started to house a warehouse and later – industrial workshops.
The Church of St. Anthony of Padua was returned to the Catholic Church only in 1998. It underwent a long restoration and finally reopened its doors.