The Present Church

On April 1900, the first stone of the present church was blessed and laid. The expenses for the building were partly shouldered by the Royal Family of Spain and partly raised by the Friars. On February 16th, 1902, the church was inaugurated.   The Friary beside the church was rebuilt in 1959.

As a consequence of the turbulences of 1963 and the following years, and the war of 1974, the Church and the Friary of the Holy Cross are within the Buffer Zone. Both the main enhance to the Friary and the carriage gate to the garden look on to the Turkish occupied territory and are blocked. For this rea?son, in 1996, a new, decent entrance and gate were opened and the garden was beautified with flowers, trees and a lawn. A Grotto of Lourdes was built under the trees.

In 1998, from June to November, the whole interior of the Church was restored. The Holy Masses on Sundays were then celebrated in the garden. Faithful to the original design and spirit, the restoration work enhances the beauty of the place leading to prayer and meditation. The work was completed with a magnificent stained-glass window, above the altar.

Click here: Description of the Inerior of the Church