Also known as St. Anthony of Padua Franciscan Church, St. Antoine is a spectacular example of Italian neo-Gothic building, dating to 1913. The congregation was established in 1725 in Persembe Pazari, in Karaköy, and moved to this spot that same century. Giulio Mongeri, the Istanbul-born architect who created the foundation for the Republican Monument in Taksim Square, laid the foundations for the church in 1906. The church draws standing-room-only crowds at Christmastime.