The Girdiškė Church of the St. Virgin Mary of the Snows

The Girdiškė estate was first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century, and in the second half of the 18th century, the first house of prayer was built here and functioned as a chapel for a while, thanks to the care of the local landowner Jonas Adamavičius. In 1804, Bishop Juozas Giedraitis granted Girdiškė the parish rights. The old wooden church was decaying and small repair works did not save much, so in   the dean’s visitation a record of 1897 it is found that materials were being prepared for the construction of a new church. Till 1900 the project of a new church was prepared. Based on it, a postcard was issued and distributed to contributors.  In the same year, the archbishop of Samogitia   Gasparas Cirtautas visited Girdiškė and, with his participation, the site for the new church was chosen.

Having 5,000 ruble budget for the construction, the foundations were laid in 1902. At the end of December 1909, the old wooden church of Girdiškė burned down, so the construction of a new brick church was hastened. The construction of the church caused a lot of disagreements and complaints. In 1913, the parish of Upyna was established, so there were no more than two and a half thousand Catholics left in the parish of Girdiškė. The aim was to finish the brick church as soon as possible because, after the parish had decreased, it became too big. However, the beginning of the World War I interrupted the construction of the church.

Priest Čerkeliauskas, an active public figure and a writer, who worked in Girdiškė since 1894, took care of the construction of a new, unusually large church till 1921. In 1921, priest Kazimieras Gasčiūnas was appointed as a parish priest. On June 1-3, 1928, a special celebration took place in Girdiškė, during which the bishop of Telšiai, Justinas Staugaitis, with the participation of the Rector of the Priestly Seminary Vincent Borisevičius and 13 priests, consecrated the Girdiškė church.

In 1930, Kazimieras Andriukaitis was appointed as the parish priest of Girdiškė; he designed and installed both side altars from stripped oak trunks and their branches. Altars stand out for their originality and uniqueness; statuettes and paintings of saints are placed in niches of intertwined branches. It is believed that the idea of ​​oak altars was inspired by the Baubliai of Dionizas Poška standing just a few kilometers away.

The neo-gothic  trinave Latin cross plan Girdiškės  church is the only one in Lithuania, dedicated to St.  Virgin Mary of the Snows and is related to the fourth largest Basilica in Rome, which has the same title. The legend says that on August 5, 352, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to the Roman patrician Pope Liberius and told him to build a church in the part of Rome where it would snow that day. The miracle happened, and the great Basilica of Mary was built about half a century later. Local people of Girdiškė and surrounding parishes call the feast of the St Virgin Mary of the Snows – Snygena,  which is annually celebrated in Girdiškė church on August 5. (the feast is usually moved to the next closest  Sunday). Crowds of people traditionally flock to Snygena every year. In memory of the miracle of the St. Virgin Mary of the Snows, during the feast procession, snow falling from the sky in the summer heat is imitated: white confetti is sprinkled over the heads of the believers.