Brief History of the Franciscan church and monastery from Gherla

Gherla (Armenopolis) is a city founded by Armenians in the late 17th century, that stretched between the old Roman fort and the fortress built in 1540 by Martinuzzi Fráter György. In 1738 the Minorites, then in 1741 the Jesuits tried to settle in the Armenian rich town, but without success. The serving of the Catholic congregation in the city was conducted starting with 1731 by the observant Franciscans coming from Dej, whom on 20th September 1742 the supreme judge Dániel Tódor has donated a territory, and Márkovics András a home to use. In 1748, during the guardian P. Ponori Anaklét the cornerstone of the church has been set down, and because of the wealthy Armenian families, the church has been built by 1757. The church was ordained on 5th November 1758 by the honored Provincial P. Botár Joachim, in honor of Saint Peter of Alcantara. The Maria de Loretto Chapel was built in 1760 by Lászlóffy Bogdán, and then they started with the building of the eastern wing too, which had been finished in 1766. The Residence in Gherla was raised to the rank of Convent from 1767, when the manufacturing of the imprinted furniture from the vestry was finished. The altar of Saint Anthony’s appearance was made of stone in 1761 at the expense of Placsintár Dávid, and the altar of Saint Francisc at the expense of Csomák Miklós. The artist sculptor may have been that Johannes Nachtigall, who has carved many sculptures in stone at the Bonţida castle.

The two bells were sanctified by Bishop Kolonics László in 1777 and the third by Bishop Rudnay Sándor in 1819.

On 21st September 1855 the church was damaged by fire. One year after the disaster it has been re-covered, and on 20th September 1857 was re-blessed by the Provincial P. Keresztes József.

The Statue of Mary of Loretto (which is carved from wood) survived the fire and remained unaffected. After this miracle the veneration of Mary has been spread in our church. The pilgrims, who were going to Nicula, first entered in the chapel of Maria of Loretto, and then carried on with their journey.

The Altar of the Virgin Mary and the organ of that time were made in 1859, the altar of Saint Anne in 1867. These two altars have been replaced in 1909 with the ones existing today. The church towers from now were built in 1878. In the space between the two towers had been made the following inscription: Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, sis laudata, sic omni die Virgo hic!”, with this demonstrating a particular veneration of Mary.

The Roman Catholic Parish of Latin Rite in Gherla, under the administration of the Franciscans, because of the small number of parishioners, was founded only in 1825 by Bishop Szepessy Ignác. Until that time, the Roman Catholics were administered by the Armenian-Catholic parish.
In 1930 the eastern wing of the monastery was extended. On the ground floor the Catholic School had been opened and on the first floor a large hall for cultural purposes had been inaugurated, which was often frequented by the Hungarians from the city.
The school was nationalized in 1948, the whole east wing too, and they both were handed over to the local co-operative, which among others, used the ground floor as a glassware workshop. Until 1973 this wing was damaged in such a way, that it had to be demolished.
In 1951 the Franciscans were transported to Dej and Radna, where they were forced home. Unofficially, the Jesuits are brought to Gherla at forced home in the monastery. They had a beneficial activity in that short period. Among others, the practice of medicine of the monk P. Bátay had a national resonance, here coming diseased to be cured, the Jesuits kept here being supplied with food in exchange. The Franciscans resumed the monastery in 1957, and carried out a pastoral activity until 2001, when they handed the church and monastery over to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba-Iulia.