kostel svaté Rodiny (Veveří) Church

The Church of the Holy Family is a Roman Catholic conventual church located on Grohova Street in the Veveří district of Brno. It stands near the convent of the Sisters of Mercy and belongs to the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of the Third Order of Saint Francis, which was founded in Brno on March 15, 1886.

The Congregation purchased the land in 1891 from the Perka family. Where the main altar stands today, there was allegedly a pear tree. Mrs. Perková saw the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus in its crown and wished for a church to be built on the site of their house.

The Brno bishop Francis Salesky Bauer selected architect Karel Welzl for the construction. He designed a Neo-Renaissance church and drew inspiration from the Roman Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The new church was to replace the original small convent chapel. The decision to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth was made by the general superior of the congregation, Bernardina Hošková.

Bishop Bauer blessed the foundation stone on September 16, 1900, and it was lowered into the foundations of the crypt beneath the chancel. The bishop wished to be buried there. However, in 1904 he became archbishop of Olomouc and ultimately rested in the Cathedral of Saint Wenceslas. The church was consecrated on May 11, 1902. At that time, Bishop Bauer presented architect Welzl with the Order of Saint Gregory the Great from Pope Leo Thirteen, and builder František Přikryl received the decoration Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

During the American air raid on November 20, 1944, the most devastating in Brno's history, 578 people died. Bombs hit the neighboring building of the Order's nursing school. Its falling gable pierced the church ceiling, damaged the tower, and destroyed the organ. Classes were just taking place in the school, but no one was injured.

Repairs began in August 1947. The tower was demolished and architect Zdeněk Bažant built a new façade that blends with the surrounding row buildings. Above the three entrances are reliefs by academic sculptor Julius Pelikan. The church received a new organ from the Rieger-Kloss company from Krnov. Bishop Karel Skoupý of Brno consecrated it again on April 29, 1950. The next day, Josef Koukl, who would later become bishop of Litoměřice and had served as an altar boy here in childhood, had his first Mass there.

For the fiftieth anniversary of the consecration, a Marian column by Julius Pelikan was erected in the convent garden in 1952. At the end of 1958, the sisters had to move to the convent in Lechovice. From 1959 onwards, the church served as a hall for cultural events, training sessions, and organ concerts. The pulpit was removed, marble floors were covered with asphalt and parquet, and the side aisles were converted into changing rooms for a youth hostel.

Repairs according to architect Viktor Dohnal began in June 1990. The altar was consecrated on February 1, 1992 by Brno bishop Vojtěch Cikrle.