The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Aleppo

A twin-towered stone church on Fares al-Khouri Street in Aziziyeh. Its full name is the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi; people in Aleppo call it simply the Latin Church. Building began in 1934, took three years, and the church opened on 10 October 1937. It is the largest modern church in the city.

Getting there

In the middle of Aziziyeh. Twenty-five minutes on foot west from the Citadel of Aleppo, ten if you come down south-west from Jdeydeh. You can see it from the street: the two bell towers stand above the line of apartment blocks. The stone building next to the church is the friary where the Franciscans live.

How long it takes

Half an hour. The church offers no list of things to work through; going in, sitting down, then crossing the street to look at the front takes about that long. Stay longer if a mass is on.

What to see

The front is dressed stone and neoclassical: tiers of mouldings, round-arched windows, a triangular pediment and a three-arched porch at the entrance. The plan was modelled on Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, while the two front towers follow the classical tower arrangement of 6th century churches. The towers are not equal; the left one is a storey higher. Behind them, in the middle of the roof, sits a low dome with a small lantern and cross beside it. The ground the church stands on was the cemetery of the Latin community before the building went up.

Why it is no longer the cathedral

The Latin vicariate of Aleppo was created in 1762 and this church served as its seat for a long time. In 2011 the Cathedral of the Child Jesus was consecrated elsewhere in the city and the seat moved there. The Latin Church stayed on as a parish church, kept and served by the Franciscans. By 2004 the records here counted 12000 baptisms.

What most people miss

The red Jerusalem cross worked into the gate in the street railing. It is the Franciscan emblem and the only sign outside that tells you which order the church belongs to; most people walk through the gate without noticing it.