On September 7, 1993, on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Šiluva. The Holy Father had more than once mentioned in his addresses that he dreamed of praying before the image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn and of honoring the renowned Virgin of Šiluva – Health of the Sick.

On the fourth day of his visit to Lithuania, the Holy Father arrived in Šiluva by helicopter from Hill of Crosses. A special landing site had been prepared for this occasion on the edge of the town, by the road to Raseiniai. Today, the spot is marked by a large wooden cross erected on a small hill.

He then traveled by popemobile along the town’s side streets, passing residents’ homes and the cemetery on his way to the Apparition Chapel. After stepping out of the popemobile, he went to greet the people—rather than proceeding directly to the chapel as planned—which posed a significant challenge for security.

At the chapel, he met with Prelate E. Simaška. Inside the chapel, he knelt in prayer and kissed the stone of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

He then took part in the Liturgy of the Word in the basilica, dedicated to the theme “The Christian Family.” pamokslo įrašą išsagojo LRT >>.

At the end of the celebration, at the request of Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius, he personally crowned the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary—brought from the United States and having visited many Lithuanian diaspora parishes—entrusting the Lithuanian nation to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Pope’s visit to Šiluva is commemorated by a golden rosary crafted by Vatican artisans and donated by him, which is now kept in the Šiluva Museum.

Pope Saint John Paul II asked the Virgin of Šiluva to strengthen the resolve of the Lithuanian people to listen to the word of Jesus—the Word of Life that was sown here centuries ago. The Holy Father assured the faithful that Mary, the Queen of Peace, who has protected Lithuania for centuries, will not abandon it in the future. At the same time, he urged them to follow her example as a “pilgrim of faith”: to direct their entire lives toward Christ, to listen to the Word of God, and to live by it.

Full text of the Holy Father’s homily >>.

Addressing the Pope and the gathered faithful, Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius emphasized the importance of devotion to Mary and pilgrimages to Šiluva in the Lithuanian nation’s journey toward freedom:

“A very eloquent sign given to us by Providence is that the rebirth of conscience and of society, and the beginning of liberation, are closely linked precisely with the revival of Eucharistic adoration and devotion to Mary. In the 1970s and 1980s, penitential and prayer pilgrimages of Catholics—mostly young people—to Šiluva, the communal praying of the Holy Rosary, and the spirit of reparation for the sins of the nation—as the true path to inner freedom—helped to shape the self-awareness of the Church in Lithuania and encouraged the activity and responsibility of the laity in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.”