Panevezys Cathedral

The Cathedral of Christ the King (Kristaus Karaliaus katedra) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Panevėžys. The cathedral is eclectic combining features of Baroque and Neoclassicism and it was built between 1908-1933.

In 1860, bishop Motiejus Valančius began preparations for construction of a new church in Panevėžys. However, after the Uprising of 1863, the Tsarist authorities implemented Russification policies, including the Lithuanian press ban and suppression of the Catholic Church. The authorities forbade construction of any new Catholic churches and closed the Piarist church leaving only the Church of Saints Peter and Paul to service the Catholic inhabitants of Panevėžys. A permission for construction was obtained in 1904, but the work was delayed by the Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905 until 1908. Until World War I, a rectory and a temporary chapel were completed while church's walls rose up to the windows. The church was to be named after Saint Stanislaus the Martyr.

After the war the construction was abandoned until April 1926 when Pope Pius XI established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Panevėžys. Architect Rytis Steikūnas and engineer Aleksandras Gordevičius redesigned and expanded the church as it now was to serve as a cathedral. The unfinished cathedral was blessed by Jonas Mačiulis (better known as Maironis) on Saint Casimir's Day in 1930. For that occasion Maironis wrote a hymn dedicated to Christ the King. Four bells from Apolda, Germany, were blessed in 1931. The largest, weighing 1,628 kilograms, is dedicated to Christ the King. The organ, produced by Bruno Goebel in Königsberg, has three manuals. The cathedral was consecrated during a Eucharistic Congress on June 30, 1933, by Juozapas Skvireckas, Archbishop of Kaunas. The interior was decorated by local painter Povilas Puzinas in 1938–1939.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Katedros aikštė 1, Panevėžys, Lithuania

Details

Founded: 1908-1933
Category: Religious sites in Lithuania