Church of the Holy Cross () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the

Vilnius Old Town The Old Town of Vilnius (), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, as inscribed within UNESCO World Heritage Sites, has an area of 3.59 square kilometres (887 acres). It encompasses 74 quarters, with 70 streets and ...

. Initially, in 1543 a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was built which was later expanded and rebuilt. The current towers were built in 1725. Following the fire in 1737 the church was reconstructed and a late baroque interior was installed. A former

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

complex of the

Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian language, Italian they are also known commonly ...

is nearby the church. The church is famous for a spring with miraculous water in its basement (people believe that this water cures

eye disease This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ...

s) and a painting of

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, which bestows favors.

Gallery

File:Vilnia, Pałacavy-Ludvisarskaja. Вільня, Палацавы-Людвісарская (N. Cui, 1812).jpg, Painting of the church, 1812 File:Vilnia, Ludvisarskaja, Banifracki. Вільня, Людвісарская, Баніфрацкі (M. Januševič, 1854).jpg, Painting of the church, 1854 File:Vilnia, Maci Božaja Banifrackaja. Вільня, Маці Божая Баніфрацкая (XIX).jpg, Painting of the church and its holy painting of Mary, 19th century File:Vilnia, Ludvisarskaja, Banifracki. Вільня, Людвісарская, Баніфрацкі (S. Fleury, 1900).jpg, Photo of the church, 1900 File:Vilnia, Ludvisarskaja, Banifracki. Вільня, Людвісарская, Баніфрацкі (V. Bujka, 1930-39).jpg, Photo of the church in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

File:Church of the Holy Cross in Vilnius Bonifratri2.jpg, Copy of the holy painting of Mary on the façade of the church in 2007 File:Church of the Holy Cross in Vilnius Bonifratri6.jpg, Buildings of the monastery complex in 2007 File:Interior of Vilnius Church of the Holy Cross 2.jpg, Interior of the church in 2017

References

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1543 1543 establishments in Lithuania 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Lithuania 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Lithuania Baroque architecture in Lithuania Roman Catholic churches in Vilnius {{Europe-RC-church-stub