Pauline Church

The Pauline Church is one of the most beautiful modern Hungarian architectural masterpieces because of its architectural principles and the way it serves the Christian liturgy. It was built in 1937 following the design of Károly Weichinger. In those years, architects made serious attempts throughout the country to renew religious architecture. The Pauline church of Pécs constitutes a great achievement. The church has three naves, it is 40 metres in length, 15 metres in width, its internal height is 8 metres. The flat-roof bell-tower is 26 metres high and connected to the church by an archway.

The Pauline Church is one of the most beautiful modern Hungarian architectural masterpieces because of its architectural principles and the way it serves the Christian liturgy. It was built in 1937 following the design of Károly Weichinger. In those years, architects made serious attempts throughout the country to renew religious architecture. The Pauline church of Pécs constitutes a great achievement. The church has three naves, it is 40 metres in length, 15 metres in width, its internal height is 8 metres. The flat-roof bell-tower is 26 metres high and connected to the church by an archway.
In front of the church there is the statue "The Virgin Mary - the Queen of the World" made from Zsolnay ceramics, opposite the church there is a colourful sculpture by Victor Vasarely.
The bronze alter of the church depicts Prince St. Emerich (the son of the first king of Hungary) kneeling in front of the Virgin Mary. In the chapel opening from the right nave you can see the picture of St. Paul the Hermit. The picture originates from the first Pauline church.
The Pauline order was founded in 1252 by Blessed Eusebius, he collected the hermits living in the Pilis mountains into a community. This is the only male order founded in Hungary. It was approved by the Holy See in 1308. The Pauline order was particularly supported by three kings: Carobert (Charles Robert), Louis the Great and King Matthias.
St. Paul the Hermit, whose name the order took up, was born in 228 AD. He used to live in a rock cave in a desert in Lower Egypt. He devoted his life to prayer, to penitence and to suffering. The legend has it that he only ate bread and date that was brought to him by a raven. This is why the coat-of-arms of the Pauline order contains the raven and the date palm. After the death of St. Paul a monastery that still exists was established on the Sinai peninsula. In the 13th century Europe a popular movement followed the rules of this monastery.
The bishop of Pécs, Bartholomew organised the monastery in the 13th century and gathered the hermits from the forests and caves around the town. The members of the order built a church on Jakab-hegy, and the church was conjoined to a rectangular monastery. In the cloisters of the monastery you can still see the rooms: the cells, the dining room and the cistern.
At the end of the 1970s archaeological exploration and the preservation of the monument took place. Near the monastery you can see the bed of a small pond that was most probably created by the monks. At the end of the 1930s the Pauline monks constructed a hermit house here, now its remain serve to protect from rain. It is worth visiting the Jakab-hegy on foot, wandering the Mecsek tourist routes, to see the ruins of the medieval Pauline monastery. The order fosters the spirit of being a hermit, the love for the home country and the respect for the Virgin Mary. Currently the order has 23 members in Hungary. Paulines are custodians of the Shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa.