In contrast to the gray municipal buildings facing Nezalezhnastsi Square (Independence Square), the early 20th century Roman Catholic church is of picturesque and impressive appearance. It is known as "Red Church" because of its red brick walls. Official name of the church is quite rare and, probably, cannot be found elsewhere in the world: St. Simon and St. Helen Church.
This neo-Romanesque church was designed by Polish architects Tomasz Pajzderski and Władysław Marconi, and built during 1905-1910. The bricks for its walls were sourced from Częstochowa, whilst the roof tiles came from Włocławek. Its construction was financed by Edward Woyniłłowicz, a prominent Belarusian civic activist. The church was named and consecrated in memory of Woyniłłowicz's deceased children, Szymon and Helena.
In 1923, the church was sacked by the Red Army and in 1932 it was closed down by the Soviet authorities and transferred to the State Polish Theatre of the BSSR. Before the Second World War, the church was rebuilt into a cinema. In 1941, the German occupation administration returned to building to its original use as a church, but after the war it was again used as a cinema, called the "Soviet Belarus."
In 1990, the building was returned to the Catholic Church. Since then it was renovated, and became an important centre of religious, cultural and social life. It also became a centre for the revived Belarusian Greek Catholic Church.
Mass is celebrated in the church in Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian, and Latin.
