Tour the Lithuanian Church (possibly the most Lithuanian Church in the USA)
Details
NEW Event.
Will do again: 2031
Cost: Please bring a donation to the church and/or docent
For those wishing to attend Mass, Mass is at 11am. After Mass we will have a docent tell us about the Lithuanian immigrants to the St. Louis area. For those wishing to join just for the talk/tour, please be at the church by 11:40am (I was told their Masses are relatively short). If Mass is not over, please wait quietly in the back.
Directions: From Illinois off I-64, take the Baugh Avenue exit.
From St. Louis: I-64 East to Exit 3 in Illinois (St Clair Avenue), Left on 18th Avenue, 2nd exit from round-about to Baugh Avenue.
There are two gates to the church but ONLY the Baugh Avenue gate will be open. Baugh Ave is one-way going east, the parking gate is BEFORE the church. There is a metro Link parking lot by the church too.
"Church of Immaculate Conception at East St. Louis (1509 Baugh Ave) is one of the best examples of Lithuanian-American national romantic architecture. It has been designed by Jonas Mulokas, its stained-glass windows created by Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas (year 1956), for whom it was the first such major work. Together, these two authors created the post-WW2 style of Lithuanian churches where they sought to represent their lost homeland as best as they could (after all, the post-WW2 migrants have been forced from their country by Soviets rather than emigrating on their own will).
"Inside, the altar is also decisively ethnic Lithuanian, carved from wood (author Petras Vėbra). The most striking parts of the interior are 55 stained glass windows, most of which have Lithuania-related topics.
"There are so many ethnic Lithuanian details that it is impossible to list every single one and the church could serve as a kind of repository of the Lithuanian history, as nearly every wooden or metal decoration follows a Lithuanian folk pattern or design, or uses the traditional Lithuanian symbols."
from https://global.truelithuania.com/st-louis-missouri-illinois-1719/