"Lithuania's greatest Marian treasure, crowned twice over two centuries, at the heart of a pilgrimage that fills a nation"
Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Šiluva, Kaunas County, Lithuania
The Basilica of the Nativity holds the crowned miraculous painting of Our Lady of Šiluva — called 'Lithuania's greatest treasure.' Brought from Rome in 1457, lost during the Reformation, recovered after a weeping apparition, and crowned by papal authority twice, this Hodegetria icon anchors the largest religious gathering in the country. Each September, up to 100,000 pilgrims converge for the eight-day Šilinės festival.
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Quick Facts
Location
Šiluva, Kaunas County, Lithuania
Tradition
Site Type
Coordinates
55.5302, 23.2246
Last Updated
Feb 14, 2026
Learn More
The basilica's story spans from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania through the Reformation, a miraculous apparition, two papal coronations, and Soviet resistance, making it inseparable from Lithuanian Catholic identity itself.
Origin Story
In 1457, nobleman Petras Gedgaudas, a servant of Grand Duke Vytautas the Great, built a church and brought a Marian icon from Rome. During the Reformation (c. 1532-1569), the church was lost to Calvinists. In 1608, the Virgin appeared weeping to children and a Calvinist professor near the old church site, leading to the recovery of the buried church treasures and the restoration of Catholic worship. A wooden church was built in 1641. The current brick basilica was consecrated on September 8, 1786 — the same day the painting received its first canonical coronation.
Key Figures
Petras Gedgaudas
Nobleman who built the first church in 1457 and brought the Marian icon from Rome
Tomas Podgaiskis
Lithuanian artist who spent over a decade creating the basilica's late Baroque interior ensemble
Pope Pius VI
Authorized the first canonical coronation of the painting in 1786 — the first such coronation in Lithuania
Pope John Paul II
Elevated the church to Minor Basilica in 1988
Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed the golden crowns for the second coronation in 2006
Spiritual Lineage
The basilica is the principal church of Lithuania's foremost Marian pilgrimage complex, complemented by the adjacent Chapel of the Apparition. The Šilinės festival connects to the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated here since 1457. The site is a designated station on the John Paul II Pilgrim Route.
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