In Azerbaijan, there is only one church dedicated to the Catholic faithful, originally established during the pre-revolutionary period. The Catholic community in Baku was officially founded in 1882 with the construction of a small chapel. The building of a larger church commenced in 1909 and was completed in 1912. This church was named the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, designed by the Polish architect Józef Płoszko. The funding for the church came from the families of the early industrialists, notably the Rylski family and Witold Zglenicki. Since a significant portion of the financial support came from individuals of Polish descent, the church became popularly known as the “Polish Church.”
However, following the Bolshevik Revolution, the church was destroyed, and the Catholic community was effectively disbanded.
The late 1990s marked a revival for the Catholic community in Azerbaijan. A few years later, the Holy See established a primary territorial-administrative unit, which was entrusted to the Salesian religious congregation. In 2002, the Catholic community successfully acquired a small plot of land for the construction of a new church.
After four years of dedicated effort, the new church was completed. The architectural design was created by Italian architect Paolo Ruggero, resulting in a modern structure that incorporates unique neo-Gothic elements. In April 2007, the church was consecrated, with the ceremony attended by a diplomatic representative of the Pope. The new church retained the name of its predecessor, honoring the legacy of the original church that had been destroyed in the late 1930s.