Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit (Vilnius)
The Holy Spirit Church in the historic center of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius is a Roman Catholic church. It is to be distinguished from the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit .
The organ of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche , built in 1776 by the German organ builder Adam Gottlob Casparini , is one of the oldest in the country.
In the catacombs under the church there are around 2,000 corpses, probably from the 17th and 18th centuries, all of which fell victim to the plague . The catacombs are not open to the public.
history
The church, which was used by the Dominicans as a monastery church from 1501 , is also known as the Dominican church. The building itself dates back to the end of the 14th century.
In 1844 the monastery was closed and converted. It served as both a residential building and a prison. Later the Holy Spirit Church became a parish church. Since it has served as a church for the Polish minority in Lithuania to this day, it remained open all the time during the Soviet occupation. Only Polish-language masses are celebrated in the church supervised by the Dominicans. A highlight was the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993.
The church was burned four times, and each time it was rebuilt larger and more splendid. The current building was built after the last fire in the 18th century, with both the building and the interior being redesigned in lush baroque and rococo styles . Since then, the church has appeared in gold, white and pink. There is an impressive crucifix above the main altar. The image of Jesus of Divine Mercy by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski was kept in the church from 1948–1956 and 1987–2005 . Today there is a replica in the side altar.
Web links
- ourladyofsiluva.com (English)
- inyourpocket.com (English)
- welcometo.lt (English)
Coordinates: 54 ° 40 ′ 52.5 ″ N , 25 ° 17 ′ 4.8 ″ E