Saint Paul Church (Turkish: Aziz Pavlus Kilisesi), alternatively known as the Bebekli Kilise, is a Roman Catholic Church in Adana. The church was built by the Jesuit Order in 1870, and served the Armenian and European Catholic communities. The church was handed over to the Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia with the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. St. Paul Church is located close to the 5 Ocak Square, off the Cemal Gürsel Street. The 2.5 meter high bronze statue of Mary resembled a baby to the people walking by and the church became known as the "Church with Baby" (Bebekli Kilise).[1]
Jesuit School
The building just east of to the church was the Jesuit St.Jeanne d'Arc High School which had opened in 1870s and served until it was burned at the Massacre of 1909. The Jesuit church and the school was built by the French Jesuits as a complex, therefore the language of both was French. The school was demolished after the burning and the site is now used as a parking lot. Behind the church and the Jesuit school, a Protestant school for Girls was built by American missionaries. The girls' school was restored and now serves as a Tepebağ High School.
Turkey
Church front
Church Apse and more interior
Church Altar
Adana Nativity scene
