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LT EN DE PL 
Christian PilgrimagePilgrimages in LithuaniaJohn Paul II and Lithuania
Į pirmą puslapį


We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, because by your Cross you redeemed the world!
Tomo Vyšniausko fotografija
  • The late-Baroque church and chapels are among the finest specimens of 18th century architecture in Lithuania.
  • A unique complex that subtly combines the natural scenery of a “prayer garden” with simple yet highly suggestive architecture.
  • A holy place which still today attracts crowds of pilgrims.

Vilnius Calvary is a holy place which for long ages has been offering consolation and strength to those who are burdened by misfortune. In times past, people would travel hundreds of kilometres on foot to pray about Christ’s sufferings and earn God’s blessing by making the Way of the Cross here. Large numbers of devout souls still come today for the same reason. During Pentecost, in particular, thousands gather and, intoning poignant hymns, prayerfully climb the steep hills. Vilnius Calvary suffered more than some other shrines from the cruel trials which, historically, Lithuanian Catholics have endured. The Soviet authorities blew the site up in 1962, and a year later completed demolition of the shrine’s chapels and gateways. Reconstruction of Vilnius Cavalry began in 1990. Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis stressed that the shrine’s rebirth “was not only the recreation of sacred art, but a gift to believers and to the entire nation after its experience of great sufferings and losses.” The Church of the Invention of the Holy Cross is one of the most beautiful and well preserved sacred art monuments in Lithuania. Pilgrims can pray before a relic of the Holy Cross that is displayed under glass in the church at the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows.

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