The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord ( lt, Kristaus Atsimainymo katedra) also called Kaišiadorys Cathedral is the name given to a Catholic religious building that serves as the Cathedral of Kaišiadorys, a city of the European country of

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 ...

, and the seat of the Diocese of Kaišiadorys. In 1906 a committee for the construction of the church was created. In the following years three different projects for the construction of the structure were developed. Only in 1914 it was adopted the final, made by Vaclovas Michnevičius. In 1932 the church was finally built and in 1934 became the headquarters of the curia. On 10 May 1936 the church was elevated to the cathedral and this time

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

sent a gift for safekeeping. In 1944 the cathedral was severely damaged as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and during the period of Soviet occupation was closed to worship and destined for another use, until 1987, when Lithuania regained its independence and religious events were reestablished. The crypt of the cathedral contains the remains of Blessed

Teofilius Matulionis Teofilius Matulionis (22 June 1873 – 20 August 1962) was a Lithuanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was consecrated a bishop in secret and spent most of his years as bishop in prison. His death was likely due to poisoning by official ...

, bishop of Kaišiadorys from 1943 to 1962, interred near the remains of his predecessor :lt:Juozapas Kukta. A statue of Matulionis stands in the square before the main entrance to the cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transfiguration of Our Lord, Church Kaisiadorys Buildings and structures in Kaunas County Kaišiadorys Roman Catholic churches completed in 1932 Gothic Revival church buildings in Lithuania 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Lithuania

See also

References