Basilicas in Northeastern Europe

This blog is about basilicas in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and the Ukraine.

I blogged about the following basilica on July 22, 2021.

• Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv, Ukraine.

I blogged about the following basilicas on July 30, 2021.

• Cathedral Basilica of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul in Kaunas, Lithuania.
• Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus in Vilnius, Lithuania.  

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Grodno, Belarus

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

The Cathedral Basilica was initially a Jesuit church but became the Cathedral for the new Diocese of Grodno in 1991.  The Baroque church was consecrated in 1705.  Attending the consecration were the Russian czar and the Polish king.  The Cathedral Basilica is adorned with frescoes and more than 70 sculptures.  The Soviets closed the church between 1960 and 1987.

The first two pictures are from Pinterest and the last two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Budslau, Belarus

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

The 17th Century Baroque Basilica contains an icon of Our Lady that is revered in Belarus.  The stone church was once part of a monastery.  The pipe organ dates to 1771.

From Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pinsk, Belarus

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1996.

The Basilica is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Pinsk.  A stone church was built in 1510 for a Franciscan monastery in Pinsk.  This church was later damaged during a conflict but was essentially rebuilt in a Baroque style between 1712 and 1730.  A bell tower was added in 1817 and a fourth level was built in the early 20th Century.  The pipe organ was installed in 1836 and has almost 1,500 pipes.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Aglona, Latvia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

The Italian Baroque Basilica was built between 1768 and 1780, initially as the church for a Dominican monastery.  The Basilica has twin 200-foot towers and some Rococo decorations.  An icon of Our Lady attracts 300,000 pilgrims per year.

The first picture is from Pinterest and the last two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Siluva, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1974.

Lithuania embraced Catholicism in 1251, making it the last European nation to become Christian.  In 1457, a small Catholic church was built in Siluva.  About 100 years later, the area had become Calvinist.  Before his church was seized by the Calvinists, the parish priest buried a treasured painting of Jesus and Mary to protect it.  Shortly thereafter, almost all of the people converted to Calvinism.  In 1608, some children were tending their sheep in a field and saw a beautiful young woman holding a child and wearing blue and white robes.  She was grief-stricken and a light surrounded her and the child.  And then she disappeared.  The children told their Calvinist pastor who said it was nonsense.  They told their parents and the next day everyone gathered in the field.  And then the Lady and Child reappeared and she was still crying.  The pastor asked her why she was weeping and she replied that people had abandoned the True Faith.  Many returned after that to Catholicism.  A wooden church was built on the site to house the painting, which had been found, and to commemorate the apparition, but was replaced with the current brick church in 1786.   

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Zemaiciu Kalvarijoje, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

The Baroque and Neo-Classical Basilica was built between 1780 and 1822 to replace an earlier church.  The Basilica has a painting of Mary and Jesus and many believe that God has used the painting to perform miracles. 

The first two pictures are from local sources and the last is from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Marijampole, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1992.

The Neo-Baroque Basilica was built in the early 19th Century and was expanded and improved over the next century.  It has a painting of the Madonna and Child that attracts pilgrims and it contains the tomb of Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis, an early 20th Century Lithuanian bishop.

Pictures are from Pinterest and Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Krekenava, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

The Neo-Gothic brick Basilica was completed in 1902, although there has been a church on this site since 1484.  The church has two main towers and 13 additional smaller towers.  It is noted for its 15th Century painting of the Madonna and Child.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Resurrection of Christ, Kaunas, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2015.

The Basilica was built in a modern design in the 1930s.  The purpose was to give glory to God for Lithuania’s independence following the First World War.  Its main tower rises over 200 feet.  The building was used for secular purposes between 1940 and 1993 first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets.

The first picture is from Flickr and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Trakai, Lithuania

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2017.

The Basilica was built in the 15th Century by Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas.  It employs both Gothic and Baroque designs and has a 15th Century painting of the Madonna and Child given to Vytautas by the Byzantine Emperor Manual II.

All pictures are from local sources.

Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Petersburg, Russia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2013.

The Basilica was completed in 1783 and its name was chosen because Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia at the time.  It is the oldest Catholic church in Russia.  For much of its history, the church was administered by religious orders—first by the Franciscans, then the Jesuits, and later the Dominicans.  By 1917, the church had 30,000 members.  The Soviets killed St. Catherine’s pastor in 1923, but the church remained open until 1938.  It was closed until 1992.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

A stone church was built on the site of the current basilica in 1814 to replace a wooden church and Emperor Joseph II of Austria attended the consecration.  This church burned in 1861 and was replaced with the current church in 1866.  The Basilica has many sculptures and paintings.  

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Peter the Apostle, Odessa, Ukraine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

The Basilica was built either in 1893 or 1913 (sources differ) and was paid for by a Ukrainian of French descent.  It was the only Catholic church allowed to be open in Odessa from 1936 to 1950.

Both pictures are from Tripadvisor.

Ukrainian-rite Basilica of the Mother of God, Zarvanytsia, Ukraine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

A monk fled Kiev in 1240 ahead of a Mongol invasion.  Exhausted and wounded, he walked 300 miles east.  He fell asleep next to a spring only to be awakened by the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave him an icon of herself and her Divine Son.  The monk washed in the spring and his wounds were healed.  He built a chapel that attracted pilgrims and soon a town sprang up around the chapel and spring.  Many pilgrims were healed, including the king's brother, after praying to God before the icon and after drinking from the spring.  This chapel was replaced multiple times over the centuries until the Soviets destroyed the last chapel in 1961.  The Soviets put barbed wire around the spring and poured diesel fuel into it.  The icon was hidden from the Soviets.  After the collapse of the Soviet Union and after Ukraine regained its independence (1991), the current church was built which was consecrated in 2000 and the icon was placed in the church.

Both pictures are from local sources.