About the Church
The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, in Naujoji Vilnia is one of the younger shrines in the eastern part of the city of Vilnius, marked by a distinctive history and dynamic development.
This church officially opened its doors only in 2002, yet its history reaches back to the interwar period. In 1932 an initiative began to build a new church, which was to be dedicated to St Stanislaus Kostka. The design was created by the architect Jan Borowski, who planned a Modernist shrine that would have been one of the most modern in the entire Vilnius region. Unfortunately, financial obstacles forced a more modest version to be built.
At that time the site now occupied by the psychiatric hospital held barracks of the Polish army. The soldiers began building a garrison church, but the Second World War interrupted the construction, and the building never became a place of prayer. During the Soviet period the building served various practical purposes – it was turned into a shop, a wine store and workshops, and belonged to the psychiatric hospital, which returned to the premises assigned to it in tsarist times.
Only after Lithuania regained independence did the building's fate change, in 2002: the hospital administration handed the building over to the Archdiocese of Vilnius. A new parish, named for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, began its work, and Father Vaclav Volodkovič was appointed parish priest. The shrine quickly became a spiritual centre for the local community.
On 8 October 2005 Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis solemnly consecrated the church, with a large gathering of the faithful and clergy in attendance. Through such ceremonies a church is not only officially opened but also becomes a blessed place dedicated to the worship of God.
In 2014 the parish became the centre of the newly established Naujoji Vilnia Deanery. Various parishes and chapels in the surrounding settlements were assigned to the deanery, further strengthening the parish's importance in the region.
Mass in the church is celebrated in three languages – Lithuanian, Russian and Polish – showing its multicultural character and its aim of serving all the local residents. Stations of the Mysteries of the Rosary set up in the churchyard invite the faithful to deepen their prayer and contemplation.
It is a place where the twists of history intertwine with present-day affairs, remaining important both to the local community and to the whole city of Vilnius.
This church officially opened its doors only in 2002, yet its history reaches back to the interwar period. In 1932 an initiative began to build a new church, which was to be dedicated to St Stanislaus Kostka. The design was created by the architect Jan Borowski, who planned a Modernist shrine that would have been one of the most modern in the entire Vilnius region. Unfortunately, financial obstacles forced a more modest version to be built.
At that time the site now occupied by the psychiatric hospital held barracks of the Polish army. The soldiers began building a garrison church, but the Second World War interrupted the construction, and the building never became a place of prayer. During the Soviet period the building served various practical purposes – it was turned into a shop, a wine store and workshops, and belonged to the psychiatric hospital, which returned to the premises assigned to it in tsarist times.
Only after Lithuania regained independence did the building's fate change, in 2002: the hospital administration handed the building over to the Archdiocese of Vilnius. A new parish, named for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, began its work, and Father Vaclav Volodkovič was appointed parish priest. The shrine quickly became a spiritual centre for the local community.
On 8 October 2005 Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis solemnly consecrated the church, with a large gathering of the faithful and clergy in attendance. Through such ceremonies a church is not only officially opened but also becomes a blessed place dedicated to the worship of God.
In 2014 the parish became the centre of the newly established Naujoji Vilnia Deanery. Various parishes and chapels in the surrounding settlements were assigned to the deanery, further strengthening the parish's importance in the region.
Mass in the church is celebrated in three languages – Lithuanian, Russian and Polish – showing its multicultural character and its aim of serving all the local residents. Stations of the Mysteries of the Rosary set up in the churchyard invite the faithful to deepen their prayer and contemplation.
It is a place where the twists of history intertwine with present-day affairs, remaining important both to the local community and to the whole city of Vilnius.