Lithuania is Mary’s country

In Lithuania, a full 25% of the churches are dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And yet the country only converted to Christianity in 1387 when the Lithuanian-Polish King Wladyslaw II Jagiello embraced Catholicism, leading the rest of his nation behind him. 

Marian devotion, both within the nobility and the Lithuanian people as a whole, was such that Pope Pius XI once said: "Lithuania is Mary’s country."

Among the most important shrines dedicated to Mary are those of Siluva, Kalvarija (or Varduva), Pazaislis (near Kaunas), and Krekenava (in the North).

· In Kaunas, the capital, the faithful venerate Our Lady of Sorrows in the cathedral of the city.

· In Trakay, Our Lady of Good Counsel.

· In Palanga, the people have chosen Our Lady of Lourdes as the patroness of their local shrine.

· In Vilna, the "Czestochowa" of Lithuania, Mary is known under the name of Our Lady the Gate of Dawn.

Marie de Nazareth Website