A Georgian Byzantine Rite Catholic community, though small, has existed for a number of centuries. It has never constituted an autonomous ("sui iuris") Church, as defined by Canon 27 of the "Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches", which have a hierarchy of their own and are recognized as autonomous by the supreme authority of the Church. Outside Georgia, a small parish has long existed in Istanbul, centered on Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Istanbul, founded in 1861. This was never established as a recognized particular church of any level (exarchate, ordinariate, etc.), within the communion of Catholic Churches, and accordingly has never appeared in the list of Eastern Catholic Churches published in the "Annuario Pontificio".