The community of Our Lady of Lourdes was founded in 1900 by Father Fercken, a priest of Dutch origin.
At that time, the district of Göztepe in Izmir was a small village inhabited mainly by Christians of Latin origin. The language used in this parish has always been French, the language spoken by almost all Catholic Christians at that time.
The parish was founded at the call of "Our Lady of Lourdes", no doubt due to the strong presence of French clergy in the Ottoman Empire.
The Church led an intense pastoral life until the 1960s. The sudden decline in the number of Christians led to a gradual shrinking of the parish.
The Domenican priests of Our Lady of the Rosary parish celebrated Sunday Mass for many years, mainly to maintain the church building, although there was no active community of the faithful. At that time, a Muslim family was entrusted with its maintenance.
From 2006 everything started to change. After many African students (Francophones), a French priest came to do missionary work. Thus the neighbourhood began to revive. Pastoral care was provided to the French-speaking, Spanish-speaking and Turkish communities.
Major renovations began, both in the residence and in the church.
The pandemic changed everything. Both Spaniards and Africans left for their home countries. Only the Turkish community remained.
The priest was transferred to another neighbourhood where he continues to serve the French and Turkish communities.
At present, the community of the faithful consists of adults who have converted from Islam to Catholicism; the baptised, as well as the Turks in a large catechumenal group.