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Marijampolė Deanery

Marijampolės Šv. Vincento Pauliečio bažnyčia

Built 1890 Age 136 yr Coord. 54.5515, 23.3488
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About the Church

The Church of St Vincent de Paul in Marijampolė rises in the city centre, on the south-eastern side of Vytautas the Great Park, and stands out from the other churches of Sūduva with its unusual silhouette. It is the only church in the region reminiscent of the architecture of the Eastern Christian world.

The masonry church was built in the late 19th century, around 1890, for the needs of the Russian imperial army and dedicated to Tsar Alexander III. After the First World War the Bishop of Seinai handed the building over to the Marian Fathers, who adapted it for Catholic worship – during the interwar period it served as a Lithuanian Army chapel. A parish was established in 1940, serving the southern part of the city and the surrounding villages. During the Soviet period the church was closed and turned into a warehouse, and it reopened its doors to the faithful only in 1990.

The Neo-Byzantine building is adorned with one main tower and seven smaller domes – a rare and striking feature in Lithuanian sacred architecture. The church is listed in the Register of Cultural Property as a state-protected heritage site.

Gallery and Resources

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