Panagia Stavroforon (Lady of the Crusades)
The Virgin Mary of the Crusaders (Crosecchieri - Panagia Stavroforon) in Heraklion in Markou Moussourou Street was part of the Latin Capuchin Monastery, which is mentioned since the early Venetian era. The main activity of the monastery was the management of the hospital - hostel of Saint Anthony (Agios Antonios) which was located on the current street 1821.
The monastery was first ceded to the Franciscan monks and then to the Capuchins. The large real estate of the monastery in Candia and in villages (Kounavi, Galatas, Alagni, etc.) testifies its prosperity throughout the Venetian occupation. In the Ottoman period the church was converted into the Agebut Pasha or Kuchuakli Mosque, the second name being derived from the large number of tunnels (galleries). The minaret survived intact up until World War II.
Today only the katholikon (main temple) of the monastery survives, which is a three-aisled wooden-roofed basilica with an elevated middle aisle. Two rows of polygonal columns and a pair of ancient columns with Corinthian capitals support the arches that allow communication between the aisles. To the south the temple has another aisle, which was reconstructed in the late 21st century. This additional aisle and traces of another site to the north suggest that the basilica had more than one construction phases.
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