Address: Vilniaus g. 2, 97125 Kretinga, Lithuania
Website: kretingospranciskonai.lt
Phone: +370 445 76373 (church); +370 686 30227 (parish office)
Email: kretingosparapija@gmail.com
Parish office hours: Tuesday–Friday 9:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00, Saturday–Sunday 9:00–14:00, closed Mondays.
History
In 1602 Jonas Karolis Chodkiewicz, the local starosta and owner of the Kretinga estate, built a wooden church on the right bank of the Akmena River together with his wife Sophia, and invited Bernardine (Observant Franciscan) friars to settle there. Between 1610 and 1617 a new brick church in the Gothic style, with two towers, was built on the left bank, based on Chodkiewicz's own design; the masonry work was carried out by the Kraków mason Kasparas Arkonas. On 7 July 1619 the Samogitian bishop Stanisław II Kiszka consecrated the church under the title of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Francis. It is the oldest surviving church in Samogitia.
Swedish troops plundered and damaged the monastery and church in 1659 and again in 1710. Between 1907 and 1912 the church was rebuilt and enlarged to a design by the Kraków restoration architect Sławomir Odrzywolski: two side aisles were added and a spacious transept with ornate gables was built, topped by a new wooden tower with four corner turrets. The tower's spire burned down during the Second World War and was rebuilt in the Soviet period, taking on a different form.
Architecture
The church blends Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque features — its original single-nave Gothic structure was later enriched with Renaissance and Baroque elements, while the early 20th-century reconstruction gave it a neo-Gothic character with richly decorated gables. The interior preserves woodcarving from the first half of the 17th century: doors bearing the founders' coats of arms and portraits, a pulpit with silver figures of Christ and the 10 apostles, choir stalls with portraits of 34 Franciscan martyrs, altars, and the organ case. The church houses one of the oldest organs still in use in Lithuania, originally built for the church in Gintališkė in the mid-18th century and moved to Kretinga in 2001.
Present-day function
The church remains an active Roman Catholic parish church, served by Franciscan (OFM) friars and belonging to the Palanga deanery. It is well known for the feast of St. Anthony (Šv. Antano atlaidai). A working Franciscan monastery stands beside it. The site is listed in the Lithuanian register of cultural heritage (No. 27495).
Interesting facts
- It is the oldest surviving church in the whole Samogitia region.
- Historically the church was also known under the combined title of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Francis.
- In 1649 the Samogitian bishop Jurgis Tiškevičius brought relics of St. Agnes and several other saints from Rome to the church.