Exhibitions

For over half a century, Lithuanian chapels have held a presence in two of Catholicism’s most revered shrines worldwide. The Chapel of Our Lady of Šiluva was consecrated on September 5, 1966, in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Following suit, the opening ceremony of the Chapel of Our Lady Mater Misericordiae took place on July 6–7, 1970, in the grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. During that era, Lithuania was absent from the global geopolitical map, Catholicism faced relentless persecution and suppression, and believers endured severe restrictions and repressions. Today, the existence of these chapels may seem commonplace, but their emergence in two crucial Western centres during the height of the Cold War appears nothing short of miraculous.
The exhibition traces the history of both chapels, underscoring their significance for the Lithuanian diaspora and for Lithuania under occupation. It specifically examines the artistic milieu that enabled Lithuanian artists, war refugees, to integrate into the artistic landscapes of their host countries and make their mark on an international stage. 
The exhibition opens with two narratives about the Lithuanian chapels in Washington and the Vatican. These narratives are expanded and enriched by two subsequent segments. The first one explores the modernisation of interwar Lithuanian church art and architecture, and the second one focuses on the adaptation of Lithuanian artists who fled from their homeland at the close of World War II, with particular emphasis on Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas, the principal creator behind the chapels. This segment explores how the artists acclimatized to new cultural landscapes, finding resonance and sustenance in church art as they shaped their livelihoods as artists.