About the Church
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament (Students' Church) in Kaunas stands on Vilniaus Street, in the Kaunas Old Town. This Baroque shrine is the former Dominican Church of Corpus Christi, its history recalling the complicated turns of the city's fate.
The Dominicans settled in Kaunas in 1641, and construction of the spacious masonry church began around 1678; it was consecrated in 1700. The single-nave, cruciform shrine is marked by Baroque forms, and the main facade is adorned with a round mosaic of Jesus, created in 1933 by the artists Juozas Mikėnas and Boleslovas Motuza.
In 1863–1866 the tsarist authorities turned the church into an Orthodox church for grammar-school students, and in 1922 it became the students' church. During the Soviet era, from 1965 to 1990, the „Santaka“ cinema operated here. After the shrine was regained, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been held there since 2005, and the church continues to bring together academic youth and student chaplaincy.
The Dominicans settled in Kaunas in 1641, and construction of the spacious masonry church began around 1678; it was consecrated in 1700. The single-nave, cruciform shrine is marked by Baroque forms, and the main facade is adorned with a round mosaic of Jesus, created in 1933 by the artists Juozas Mikėnas and Boleslovas Motuza.
In 1863–1866 the tsarist authorities turned the church into an Orthodox church for grammar-school students, and in 1922 it became the students' church. During the Soviet era, from 1965 to 1990, the „Santaka“ cinema operated here. After the shrine was regained, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been held there since 2005, and the church continues to bring together academic youth and student chaplaincy.