Lithuanian church voted most beautiful Catholic church in world

The baroque church is unique because free standing columns were used for the first time in the history of Lithuania‘s church architecture.

St. Peter and Paul‘s Church has 13 chapels, a baroque marble baptismal font, a Rococo pulpit built in the nineteenth century, a ship-shaped chandelier, as well as 2,000 stucco statues, frescoes, reliefs, religious paintings. Especially prized are St. Mary and Vilnius plague paintings.

The church was first built in 1431–1500, but took the current form in 1668 when a Polish architect Jan Zaoro, funded by Michael Casimir Pac, created the new design.

The church has been repeatedly destroyed and restored. However, St. Peter and Paul’s Church is one of the few churches in Vilnius which was not closed during the Soviet occupation.

Below is the Catholicsay.com list of the most beautiful churches in the world:

1. St. Peter and Paul‘s Church, Lithuania
2. The Virgin Mary’s Basilica in Krakow, Poland
3. St. Francis of Assisi church in Prague, Czech Republic
4. St. Stephen Church in Budapest, Hungary
5. St. Anne’s Church in Warsaw, Poland
6. St. Spirit Church in Denver, USA
7. St. Charles Church in Vienna, Austria
8. St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia
9. St. Kirby Grindaylthe Andrew’s Church in England
10. St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, New York, USA
11. St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy
12. St. Francis Xavier Church, New York, USA
13. St. Most of the Basilica of St. Francis, Madrid, Spain
14. St. Paul’s Basilica, Rome, Italy
15. St. Aloysius Church, Glasgow, Scotland
16. St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy