Catholic Lithuania and its Shrines

How did the Mount of the Cross begin in Lithuania?

No one can accurately document when the custom of placing the crosses on the Mount began, but allow us to pass on some accounts gathered over time.

According to a historian of the Nineteenth Century, the Mount later known as theHill of Crosses in Lithuania was originally used to worship pagan gods. 

A sacred fire, attended by young priestesses, was burnt there.  With the arrival of Christianity, the pagan traditions gave way to those of the Christians; hence the crosses.

The locals told him that the first crosses were put up after the uprising of 1831. 

Relatives of the fallen insurgents, ignorant of the burial place of their dear ones and afraid of persecution by the tsarist authorities, should they discover they were related to the patriots, would put up a cross in their loved ones’ memory on the Mount. 

The tradition continued after the Uprising of 1863 and 1864.  Old photos show crosses placed only on the top of the Mount.  “Now the Mount looks like a forest of trees; there are so many of them.  I counted some 130 on the top.  Besides there is a little church there.” wrote the historian. 

In 1914, when they excavated the Mount, they discovered stone articles, lime and bricks.  In 1991, when historians were permitted to explore parts of the Mount, they excavated artifacts of ornamental ceramics, a silver broach, knives, chisels and an arrowhead.  The historians attributed the finds to the 13th or 14th Centuries. 

Life on the Mount was peaceful and for the most part uneventful, except for the times when raiders attacked the settlement. 

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Miracle of the Hill of Crosses Come to Lithuania, to a hill where Crosses have miraculously appeared over a period of centuries of enslavement and harsh treatment at the hands of foreign dictators. Witness the apparition of Our Lady at the hill. This is a tribute as well, to a brave people who were undaunted in the face of the enemy.   Learn of the Miracle of the Cross on a hill high above the capital city of Vilnius, which would not go away. $19.95 For DVD click below

The Martyrdom of the 11 Nuns of Nowogrodek - near Lithuania

We only spent a short time in Poland; we listened to the eyewitness accounts of wholesale massacre of these brave people, first by the Communists, then by the Nazis, and again by the Communists. 

We can't help but wonder what kind of brainwashing had to be done to the troops of the Nazi and Soviet Union armies, to get them to believe that everyone else in the world except them was so much garbage, to be discarded at will, and slaughtered in any cruel and inhuman manner.  We do know that Hitler instituted an indoctrination program for the Nazi military, claiming that they were the Aryan race, and better than anyone else. 

By comparison, the rest of the world was just so much trash.  Brother Joseph of our Ministry brought to our attention just recently that Poland had always blocked Germany from Russian attacks just by the nature of its geographical location. 

When the Russians would attack the Germans, or vice versa, the battles always wound up being fought on Polish soil. 

One of the most outrageous and senseless massacres of the Polish and Lithuanian people we have learned about was the slaughter of 11 helpless nuns of the Order of the Holy Family of Nazareth in the woods of Nowogrodek, on August 1, 1943. 

During the war, this was part of Poland.  The Soviet Union took it over after World War II, and is today part of Byelorussia, which is next to Lithuania 

This also gives you some idea of how these people have been footballed around by tyrannical bullies during this century alone.

Eleven Nuns of Nowogrodek A poignant love story of 11 Nuns of the Holy Family of Nazareth, whose only crime was they were Nuns and were willing to die for the Faith. Visit the place of their brutal massacre by the Nazis. Travel to Nowogrodek in Byelorussia, to their grave, their original Church & Shrine. When they first came and were rejected in Nowogrodek, the Bishop said, "Through you little Flock, Christ will act and radiate until you enter the glory of the Father...."The town will accept you and it will be proud that it possesses you." Visit the Holy Family Nuns in Krakow. ISBN 0-926143-51-4     $19.95 For VHS click below For DVD click below

Our Lady of Ostra Bram a - Gate of Dawn in Lithuania

The tradition of the image of Our Lady of the Gate goes way back, to before the time it was placed in the Chapel above the gate. 

There are legends supporting, it came to Lithuania by way of Poland in the late Fourteenth Century, when a Polish princess married into a royal Lithuanian family.  Her name was Jadwiga. 

 Tradition tells that she was the first one to introduce Roman Catholic practices into what was then primarily an Orthodox country.  The Lithuanians welcomed the great love that was projected by the princess for the Mother of God.  Veneration to the image was accepted almost immediately.

A great wall was built around the city of Vilnius to defend her from her enemies, of which there were many over the centuries.  Above each of its nine gates, providing access to the city, an image of Our Lady was placed.[1] Above the Eastern Gate was placed the image of Our Lady of the Dawn. 

The Carmelite community enters into the picture.  In our travels, we have met many religious groups who had a great devotion to Our Lady.  Among these would be the Servants of Mary, the Marists, the La Salette Brothers and Fathers, and many others. 

 However, no group, with whom we have had personal experiences over these many years, has had a more undying love for Our Lady than the Carmelites, whose open love for Mary has been unsurpassed.  And why not?  They were formed by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  It was to the Carmelites that the devotion to the Scapular was first given, July 16, 1251.  

The Carmelites literally fell in love with the image there at the Eastern Gate, so much so that they built a monastery near the gate, and named it after the great Carmelite reformer, St. Teresa (Avila). 

They made such an extensive effort to care for, and venerate Our Lady's image at this gate, they became the custodians of the image above the Eastern Gate.  It has been a loving task, which they have continued to perform down through the centuries.  Of all the nine gates, this gate, the Eastern Gate, the gate called Ostra Brama, the Gate of Dawn, has been the most beloved of the people of Lithuania. 

Our Lady of Siluva in Lithuania

The Priest buried the documents and treasures,  and he also placed a painting in the chest. 

The painting is known as the Miraculous Image of Our Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus. 

Its origins are not known.  But it is believed it probably was brought to Šiluva from Rome and presented to Petras Giedgaudas as a gift from Vytautas the Great, as Petras Giedgaudas was the one who built the first church in honor of Our Lady's Nativity.

When you look at the Image of Our Most Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus, it looks very like other images of Mother and Child believed to have been painted by St. Luke, like the miraculous image in St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), popularly known as Salvation of the Roman People (Salus Populi Romani). 

The Image shows Mother Mary and the Child Jesus clothed in royal garments, as befits the King of the Universe and His Mother, Queen of the World.

By the Grace of God, this Image was found in perfect shape, after having been saved in the chest. 

No mold or other decomposition had marred its beauty. 

The custodians solemnly set the Image in a place of honor in the church. 

 And the people flocked to venerate the miraculous Image of their Mother and Little King, offering gold and silver ex-votos of thanksgiving.  So much so that in 1671, the church melted them down, and adding the precious jewels the pilgrims had presented to Our Lady and Her Son, fashioned a magnificent, splendid robe, worthy of Our Queen and Our Infant King.

Lithuania  - Land of Martyrs Our Lady of Siuliai Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn Our Lady of Siluva Hill of Crosses Hill of Three Crosses Like the Poles, the people of Lithuania have a holy stubborness, especially when it comes to their Faith! A persecuted people always under attack, they turned to their God Who listened to them and answered their prayers; they placed crosses on this hill. During the occupation of two monsters the Nazis and the Soviets, the faithful put up these crosses, and after the enemy took them down, they put them up again, at the risk of their lives! Go with us to the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Siuliai. We tell the story about this Shrine. We visit the Gate of Dawn Chapel,  and tell the story of this beautiful chapel plus we tell the story about the Hill of Three Crosses and how the Communists destroyed these Crosses and how the people of Lithuania rebuilt them. For DVD click below special offer $17.95 save 10%

Account of an imprisoned priest from Lithuania

We began our journey by interviewing Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius of the Archdiocese of Kaunas, Lithuania, who spent five years in Siberia because he would not deny his Faith and bow down to the false gods[1] his captors had offered him and all the faithful of Lithuania. 

They offered him a church if only he would not teach the Faith to the people; in other words - a state church.  He refused! 

It was against the law to teach the Faith, and anyone caught teaching catechism was sentenced to one year in prison.  The Faithful were to be kept in the dark!  Only the churches were allowed printed material and that was monitored by the KGB.  In this way, without knowledge of the True Faith, the hope of their atheist captors was the Faith would die, especially among future generations.  Parents could not teach their children; Priests were closely monitored; it was a no-win situation. 

Archbishop Sigitas shared, as the Priests were only allowed to test the children, the Priests clandestinely taught them the Faith as they were testing them.  Holy stubbornness!  Priests would go into the woods and teach the Faith.  The Soviet Union only allowed 5 seminarians; and till today, the country is still in need of Priests for 42 Parishes. 

The aim of their invaders was to develop an atmosphere of fear, and they were proficient at it.  This was the life of the Church under Soviet occupation.  When we asked him how he was able to hold on, he answered, when he was in the 3rd grade, he was an altar boy and that strongly contributed to the formation of his spiritual life and love for Mother Church. 

In 1983, he was sentenced to ten years in Siberia, because he refused to collaborate with the Soviet captors. 

Archbishop Sigitas served the first six months of his sentence in KGB headquarters and then 4 1/2 years in Siberia under the careful scrutiny of the KGB. 

He was released after having served five years of his sentence, when his country was liberated. 

His great crime against the state was he was caught working for an informational magazine-The Catholic Chronicles-which was a vehicle used by the Underground Church in Lithuania to reach the faithful and keep the Faith alive.  What they didn't know was he was actually the editor.  If they had known that they would have probably killed him.

Archbishop Sigitas shared he managed to celebrate Mass daily in the KGB jail clandestinely, using what little bread provisions he had to make hosts. 

As he had no chalice, he used a plastic cup for the wine he made from his ration of raisins.  He had memorized the prayers of the Mass and recited them daily by memory.  He said, it was the Mass that kept him going in Siberia. 

Should he have been discovered, he would surely have been killed!  Siberia was a hard sentence; over 500,000 did not survive the cruelty of Siberia and its weather.