St. Cajetan Catholic Church

The Polish Roman Catholic Church of St. Cajetan stands as the oldest Catholic temple in all of Pridnestrovie, and remarkably, it has survived to the present day in nearly its original form — a genuinely exceptional preservation given the turbulent history this region has experienced across nearly three centuries.

The decision to build the church was made in 1749 by Prince Joseph Lubomirsky, a commitment documented in a manuscript known as “The Act of Founding a Church in Rashkov” — a written record that preserves the founding moment with unusual historical clarity. The edifice was completed by 1786, and five years later was formally consecrated in honor of St. Cajetan. The resulting structure represents a classic example of 18th-century Polish Catholic church architecture, enriched with baroque decorative elements that speak to the artistic sensibilities and cultural connections of the Polish nobility who commissioned it.

The Soviet era brought the inevitable closure that affected so many religious buildings throughout the region, with local authorities repurposing the building first as a granary and subsequently as a carpentry workshop — secular functions that nevertheless inadvertently contributed to the preservation of the structure itself. In 1990, the church was finally returned to the Catholic community, and since then, services have been held regularly within its historic walls — conducted to the sounds of the organ, connecting modern worshippers to the rich musical tradition of Catholic liturgy in a building that has witnessed nearly three centuries of history in this ancient Dniester village.

Location: Rashkov village, Kamenka district