Krekenava, Panevėžys District Municipality
Aukštaitija
minor basilica and Marian pilgrimage shrine
Bažnyčios g. 18, Krekenava
55.54619, 24.09939
30-90 minutes; longer during services or indulgence feasts
outside service times for sightseeing, during feast days for a pilgrimage experience
Krekenava Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Krekenava Minor Basilica
A Marian shrine by the Nevėžis
Krekenava Basilica stands in Krekenava, in Panevėžys District, in the Nevėžis region. Its full name is the Krekenava Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
VLE connects Krekenava with an old church tradition, while the Panevėžys Diocese and basilica information emphasize its pilgrimage importance. It is a place where architectural history meets a living calendar of services and indulgence feasts.
From wooden church to brick basilica
VLE states that a wooden church in Krekenava was founded in 1484. The present brick church was built in 1902 to a design by Ustinas Golinevičius and consecrated in 1907.
The building belongs to historicism and has Neo-Gothic features: two towers, a rectangular plan, and three naves. From outside it is one of the more prominent sacred verticals in the Panevėžys region.
The venerated image of Mary
The spiritual centre of Krekenava Basilica is its venerated image of Mary. VLE also mentions a seventeenth-century brass bell and 1939 stained-glass windows by Stasys Ušinskas in the church.
These values show that the basilica matters not only as a building. It concentrates liturgical art, local devotion, and a long pilgrimage tradition.
Minor-basilica status
Krekenava has the status of a minor basilica. The basilica's own site also notes its link with Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore, emphasized from 2009 as part of its Marian-shrine identity.
For visitors this means Krekenava is not merely a beautiful regional church. It belongs to Lithuania's network of pilgrimage sites and has broader ecclesiastical significance.
Services and visiting
During research, the basilica services page listed Holy Mass on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00, as well as monthly indulgence-feast Mass at 12:00. This order may change with seasons, feasts, and parish life.
No separate tourist ticket was found during research. This is an active church, so sightseeing is best planned outside services, while feast days should be approached as pilgrimage events with more time allowed for crowds.
