On August 14, Armenians will attend the Holy Mass to be celebrated at the Surp Hovhannes (Saint John) Catholic Church of Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey, and on the occasion of the Assumption of Mary.
The first Holy Mass will be celebrated in this church after 95 years, according to Agos Armenian weekly of Istanbul.
The Surp Hovhannes Catholic Church of Izmir was built in 1862. It was abandoned after the Great Fire of Smyrna in 1922. But in 1960, the church was allocated to NATO soldiers. And in 2013, it was restored and returned to the Catholic community.
