St. Mary Church, Trakai

Trakai Basilica was founded in 1409 by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great in his capital city. It houses the Mother of God of Trakai, a miraculous icon traditionally attributed to a gift from Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. The icon was the first to receive papal crowns in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1718, and the church was elevated to basilica status in 2017.

According to tradition, when Vytautas the Great was baptized into Christianity, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos gave him a painting of the Virgin Mary as a gift. When Vytautas founded the Church of the Visitation in his capital city of Trakai in 1409, he placed this Byzantine icon in the main altar, where it has remained for over six centuries.

The icon's reputation for miraculous intervention grew steadily. By 1645, the church's pastor Simonas Mankevicius had officially documented 23 miracles attributed to the image. From the early seventeenth century, grateful believers began attaching votive offerings to the painting: small heart-shaped articles and chaplets made of precious metals, silver renderings of healed body parts. Over 400 such offerings now adorn the icon.

In 1717, Lithuanian Chancellor Leonas Sapiga and Vice-Chancellor Aleksandras Narusevicius donated golden crowns for the Virgin and Infant. On September 4, 1718, Bishop Konstanty Kazimierz Brzostowski performed the canonical coronation on behalf of Pope Clement XI, making the Mother of God of Trakai the first papally crowned icon in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The church suffered damage during the Swedish wars of the seventeenth century and was extensively rebuilt in the Baroque style. Gothic elements remain visible in the walls, creating a palimpsest of architectural periods. Through Russian imperial rule and Soviet occupation, the church remarkably remained open and active, its doors never closed to worshippers. In 2017, the church was elevated to basilica status by papal decree, the most recent chapter in a continuous story.