Our Lady of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis

Marian Atvocation of Kaunas (Kaunas)

En la local tradition, the image of the Mother of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis is linked to the Marian spirituality of the Camaldulans and to devotion to the Virgin as an educator in Christian love. In some areas, the idea of a pontifical gift (a Marian image sent by a pope to the monastery) has been disseminated, but the easily accessible documentation does not clearly indicate what pontifice or at what date; therefore, that point should be considered. Pious tradition y no historical date checked.

Main data

Origin and history

En la local tradition, the image of the Mother of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis is linked to the Marian spirituality of the Camaldulans and to devotion to the Virgin as an educator in Christian love. In some areas, the idea of a pontifical gift (a Marian image sent by a pope to the monastery) has been disseminated, but the easily accessible documentation does not clearly indicate what pontifice or at what date; therefore, that point should be considered. Pious tradition y no historical date checked.

En la documented historythe monastery of Pažaislis was founded in the 17th century by the Chancellor of Lithuania Krzysztof Zygmunt Pacas a house for the Camaldulans, and began to 1662. The church and the monastery were designed by Italian architects and decorated by Italian artists, including Lombard sculpture and frescoes of the Florentine painter Michael Archangel Balls, as the archdiocese itself points out. The whole was dedicated to the Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary and became one of the most notable centers of the Catholic baroque in the region.

During the 18th and 19th centuries the monastery underwent changes in use and periods of decline, as was the case with many religious buildings in Lithuania. In the 20th century and after the Soviet era, the whole was restored and returned to the cult, becoming attended by religious (nuns) and becoming an important place of pilgrimage and cultural and tourist attraction in the archdiocese of Kaunas.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted specifically mention Pažaislis as a place known by the "image of the Blessed Love of the Mother" within the artistic and spiritual heritage of the archdiocese of Kaunas. However, the available documentation does not provide a detailed description of the part (exact type of image, material, measurements or date) or a complete iconographic sheet; therefore, no consta with precision if it is a painting, icon or independent sculpture, nor its authorship. Devotional identification as Mater Pulchrae Dilectionis It links with the biblical title of the Virgin "Mother of beautiful love" (cf. If 24,24-26 in Latin tradition), very widespread in Catholic spirituality.

El sanctuary es el monasterio de Pašaikis with its baroque church, located in the district of Petrašiūnai, on a peninsula of the Kaunas reservoir. It is considered "the most magnificent example of the Baroque architecture of Lithuania" and one of the most beautiful Baroque assemblies in northern Europe. The complex, of Italian trail and elliptical plant in the church, has a rich interior decoration, with frescoes, stuccos and sculptures, and rises in a dominant natural environment on the Nemunas River and the Kaunas reservoir. The tourist and cultural sources describe it as a Baroque monastery and church of great historical and artistic importance, now open to veneration and also to cultural visits and concerts.

As for his estatus eclesialthe sources consulted do not mention the title of minor basilica nor a formal proclamation as a national sanctuary; it appears mainly as a monastery and church of great relevance within the archdiocese of Kaunas. Therefore, no consta having the title of a minor basilica or an official designation as a national sanctuary in the documentation to be consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

The shield and the official employers of the archdiocese of Kaunas focus especially on San Juan Bautista, represented by the Baptism of Jesus. In the available diocesan information, Our Lady of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis is not explicitly declared as the principal patron of the archdiocese. Nor has mention been found of a civil patronage (city or municipality) officially recognized in public documentation. Consequently, no consta a specific canonical patronage (city, diocese or nation) legally defined for this advocation.

On a canonical coronation, in the usual repertories and in the accessible diocesan and cultural sources there is no news of pontifical or diocesan canonical coronation of the image under the title of Our Lady of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis. Therefore, according to the available data, does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The church of Pažaislis is dedicated to the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, and the local liturgical calendar revolves around this Marian solemnity; the feast of the Visitation (now 31 May in the general Roman calendar) is celebrated in the archdiocese as one of the main Marian celebrations of the place. The public resources do not require a differentiated date of their own under the specific title "Our Lady of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis"; therefore, for devotional purposes, no consta a specific liturgical feast with that name different from the Marian celebrations of the church.

The monastery of Pažaislis has become an important pilgrimage and visit center. It is described as "Lithuanian baroque jewel of great importance" and one of the most prominent baroque monasteries in the country. In addition to the ordinary cult, the compound hosts guided tours and cultural activities (including concerts, as cultural agendas testify), which increases the influx of faithful and tourists. Marian devotion is expressed in participation in the Eucharist, in personal prayer and in the contemplation of the rich iconographic program, in which the figure of Mary occupies a central place within the cycle of frescoes and images.

As regards specific popular traditions (specific processions with the image of the Beautiful Love, massive annual pilgrimages under this title, etc.), the documentation consulted does not provide details; therefore, no consta precise information about the popular customs of our own exclusively linked to the advocation of Our Lady of the Beautiful Love of Pažaislis, beyond the general Marian devotion of the place.

Link to the Rosary

The diocesan fountains and the descriptions of the monastery of Pažaislis do not explicitly mention a co-fraternity of the Rosary or stable public practices of the Rosary that are uniquely linked to the advocation of Our Lady of the Beautiful Love. Therefore, from a strictly documentary point of view, no consta a specific and specific relationship of this advocation with the prayer of the Rosary (as could be special indulgences, historical co-fradies, or parties of the Rosary linked to the sanctuary).

However, from the general Marian perspective, the title "Mother of the Beautiful Love" is naturally harmonized with the spirituality of Rosary: – Los joyful and luminous mysteries contemplan la vida de Cristo bajo la guía de María, educando al corazón del fiel en el “bello amor” evangélico (humilde, fiel, sacrificado). – Los painful mysteries muestran cómo el amor de María permanece firme al pie de la cruz, ofreciendo un modelo de amor purificado y fiel. – Los glorious mysteries Present