The first mention of the Catholic parish in Shchuchin dates back to 1436. At the beginning of the 17th century, the owners of the city Yuzefovichi-Glebitsky founded a PR monastery and a community of sisters of mercy. The parish church was transferred to the order, under which the monks created a collegium. Shchuchin has become a significant religious, educational and cultural center of Prinemanye. Languages, history, theology, logic, rhetoric, botany, and poetry were taught at the Collegium. Children from different walks of life could study here for free. One of the graduates of the Shchuchin collegium was the famous geologist Ignat Domeiko.
There was a wonderful botanical garden at the collegium, which was founded by the director, monk and scientist Stanislav Yundzill, one of the first researchers of the flora and fauna of Belarus. Now historians are arguing about the place where it was located, since, unfortunately, the garden has not been fully preserved. But exotic plants in Shchuchin confirm that once there was a rich collection here. And from the records of local historians it is known that in 1814 the Shchuchinsky Botanical Garden was considered one of the best in Belarus.
In place of the old wooden church, a new one was built in 1826–1829, already made of stone. The money for its construction was given by Prince Frantisek Xavier Drutsky-Lubetsky. The church of St. Teresa of Avila is designed in the form of a Latin cross with a large dome; classicism prevails in architecture.
After the suppression of the uprising of 1830-1831, the activities of Catholic monastic orders in the Russian Empire were banned. This also applies to PR. The monastery was closed, but the church continued to exist as a parish. In 1959, it was turned into ... a gym. In this status, the temple existed until 1989, when it was restored and returned to the Catholic Church. Under him, PR fathers again serve. Source: belarus.by