Romanian Orthodox parish in Venice Mestre buys its first church

The Romanian community in Venice Mestre, Italy, has acquired its own church building.

The purchase documents were signed on Friday, 24 July, marking a milestone for the faithful of St. Agatha Parish.

The property acquisition marks the culmination of an effort that started in 2023, when the community was compelled to leave its former place of worship.

Following their relocation to the new premises, the community, in collaboration with its parish priest, Fr. Dragoș-Ilie Petean, undertook the necessary renovations to adapt the building for Orthodox worship. They also finalised the procedures for acquiring the property located at Via Giustizia 4, Venice Mestre.

The faithful thanked God for the successful completion of the project and offered prayers to the parish’s patron saint:

“We offer prayers to the Holy Martyr Agatha, who has interceded so that everything might work for the benefit of our parish community.”

The parish was established on February 1, 2021. The decision was made during a working session on January 30, 2021, when the community in Mestre was separated from St. Lucy Parish in Venice and organised as an independent parish. On the same occasion, Fr.…