The Church and the Hospital of the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God

The south side of Széchenyi square is completed by the church and monastery of the Hospitaller Brothers. The majority of the building complex was rebuilt in an eclectic style in 1887-1891, however, most of its furnishing is Baroque. In 1908 Ede Graits painted copies of Tiepolo-paintings on the vault of the church. The facade of the church is divided into three sections by pillars. A statue of the Virgin Mary can be found in the middle, the work of György Kis. The tower arises from the middle of the facade.

Capuchin friars settled down on the empty lot in 1698 and the construction of the church soon started - it was finished in 1727. Later they added a monastery next to their church. The two-storey monastery adjoining the church from the East was finished in 1731. Following this the church was extended by a chapel from the West. The tragic fire of 1744 destroyed all burnable parts of the monastery and the church, however, they manage to rebuild everything in a few years. Following the dissolution of the Capuchins in 1786 the building of the monastery was used for secular purposes. A Pécs master tanner created a foundation in 1796 for the establishment of a Hospitaller hospital. In 1873 the hospital was extended in order to house 40 patients. By 1928 the ground-floor facade of the pharmacy was finished - this can still be seen from the outside. In 1940-41, using some of the parts of the old hospital building, a two-storey hospital was built according to the plans of Károly Haraszti. The order of the Hospitaller Brothers was established in 1540 by St John. The main activity of the Brothers were taking care of sick people. The relief of St John made by Ede Mayer is on the wall of the Church overlooking the Irgalmasok street. When stepping into the church we get into a single-naved church with a barrel vault, the sanctuary has a rectangular apse. The main altar with inlays is especially unique, the altar picture depicting the martydom of St Sebastian is an Italian Baroque work of art. On the Western side we can find a square chapel. The organ of the church was made in the Angster Organ Factory of Pécs. The inscribed tombstones with coats of arms placed on the walls suggest that Pécs citizens were buried in the crypt of the church.