About the Church
The church of the Holy Guardian Angels at Paežerėliai is a masonry church in Šakiai district, in the Šakiai Deanery. Even before 1822 the owner of the Sviatošinas (Kriūkai) manor built a chapel here and set aside land to support a priest. The present brick church was built in 1860 with funds from the landowner Mielžinskis, at the request of priest Jonas Akelevičius.
After the uprising of 1863, the tsarist authorities restricted Catholic life: in 1872, by order of the bishop of Seinai, the church was closed and, for as long as 35 years – until 1907 – had no permanent priest. The parish was finally established in 1918.
The church is Historicist in style with Classicist features: rectangular in plan, with two towers, and a lower, narrower semicircular apse. The churchyard is enclosed by a wooden fence with four masonry corner chapels, and the interior is decorated with paintings in the folk style.
After the uprising of 1863, the tsarist authorities restricted Catholic life: in 1872, by order of the bishop of Seinai, the church was closed and, for as long as 35 years – until 1907 – had no permanent priest. The parish was finally established in 1918.
The church is Historicist in style with Classicist features: rectangular in plan, with two towers, and a lower, narrower semicircular apse. The churchyard is enclosed by a wooden fence with four masonry corner chapels, and the interior is decorated with paintings in the folk style.