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



Hail Mary, Mother of Fair Love!
Vytauto Kandroto fotografija
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Piligrimų kelias
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Pažaislis
  • One of the finest masterpieces of mature baroque architectural in all of Northeast Europe.
  • Known for a miraculous painting of the Mother of Fair Love.
  • The church is distinctive for its hexagonal layout and concave façade.

On the outskirts of Kaunas, on a hill in Pažaislis by the shore of the Kaunas Reservoir, stands the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary with its monastery. The ensemble is one of the finest late baroque masterpieces in all of Northeast Europe. Kristupas Žygimantas Pacas (1621–1684), the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, built this sanctuary for the Camaldolese monks in the 17th century. But the Pažaislis church and monastery complex did not gain fame just for the piety of its monks and the artistic value of its buildings. The pilgrims who throng here each year, especially for the shrine’s July 2 indulgenced feast, are also drawn by a painting of the Virgin Mary known as the Camaldolese Mother of God, which was given to the hermits by the patron of the complex and is renowned for special graces. The monastery’s dramatic history, spanning more than 300 years, touches on numerous traditions of spirituality as well as wars, fires and other disasters. Today the monastery is cared for by the Lithuanian Congregation of the Sisters of St Casimir, who seek to revive and continue traditions of divine worship while also opening the doors to new expressions of social life and culture.

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