The Church of St. Francis Xavier ( lt, Šv. Pranciškaus Ksavero bažnyčia) is located in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. The church, dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, was built in the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Square in the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. The Jesuits opened their first residence in Kaunas in 1642 and established a chapel in the

House of Perkūnas The House of Perkūnas is one of the most original and Gothic secular buildings, located in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. Originally built by Hanseatic merchants and served as their office from 1440 until 1532, it was sold in the 16th cent ...

in 1643. Later they also founded a first four-form school in the city in 1649. The construction of the church started in 1666 and was completed in 1720, the church was consecrated in 1722. The Tsarist Russian government gave the church to the

Orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (dis ...

for their use in 1824. The church was again assigned to the Jesuits only in 1924. After Lithuania was occupied by

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

the St. Francis Xavier church was turned into a technical school, the interior of the church was used as a sports hall. The church was returned again to the Jesuits in 1989,The Jesuit Church and College, Kaunas
/ref> and renovation of the church took place in 1992.

Gallery

20071016221438 04 SenamiesTio-vaizdas Orda-.jpg, Painting of the Kaunas Old Town, 1875 Central altar of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Kaunas.jpg, Central altar Kaunas, chiesa di San Francesco Saverio - Interno 02.jpg, Organ Altar of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Kaunas 1.jpg, One of the altars Church of St. Francis Xavier, Kaunas 20220630.JPG, Further view with monastery buildings Church of St Francis Xavier and Kaunas Town Hall (2017).jpg, Church of St. Francis Xavier and

Kaunas Town Hall The Town Hall of Kaunas () stands in the middle of the Town Hall Square at the heart of the Old Town, Kaunas, Lithuania.The structure dates from the 16th century. It houses a Museum of Ceramics. History The Town Hall is distinguished by its slend ...

Db kaunas001.jpg, Christmas tree near the Church of St. Francis Xavier

References

External links

Kaunas St. Francis Xavier Church website
Roman Catholic churches in Kaunas Baroque architecture in Lithuania 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Lithuania Roman Catholic churches completed in 1722 1722 establishments in Europe {{Lithuania-church-stub