The Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in The Calvary of Vilnius (Lithuania)

The Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in The Calvary of Vilnius, Lithuania sent by Giedrė from Lithuania.

Built in 17th century, The Calvary of Vilnius over the centuries has been a popular pilgrimage destination. The mover of Vilnius Calvary and the founder of the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross was the Bishop of Vilnius Jerzy Biallozor. His heir Bishop Aleksander Sapieha was in charge of construction in 1662- 1669. Vilnius Calvary was solemnly consecrated on June 9, 1669, the feast of Pentecost.

The construction work of the first masonry Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross (completed by 1700) and a monastery started. In 1772, the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross and 20 chapels were consecrated, though the construction work was to continue afterwards. In 1793 a sumptuous sacristy, decorated in stucco, was added to the church. A spacious refectory flanked the convent building.

In 1812 the church was badly devastated by the French army. After the war, it was refurbished. Tsarist authorities closed monastery in 1850. The church and the parish were left to the Diocese. In 1962, soviet invaders dynamited the chapels. They were completely demolished in 1963. In spite of that, the Way of Cross did not fade from the memory of people. The totalitarian atheism failed to break the tradition of visiting the Stations of the Cross. The pilgrimage route was not forgotten; people marked the sites of the former chapels by crosses laid out with stones, planted flowers on the foundations, while groups and individual visitors kept treading the path leading from one station to another.

After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, work to rebuild the chapels was begun. In a period of 12 years Vilnius Calvary was completely rebuilt and solemnly consecrated at Pentecost in 2002.

This is the stamp that she used:

Travel Time: 19 days | Distance Traveled: 9,052 km