Museum of Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis

museums

Marijampolė

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Jurgis Matulaitis is one of the first and most important Lithuanian Blessed figures of the 20th century. His museum offers visitors the chance to learn about the archbishop’s life and work, and to explore the early history of Marijampolė city.

The name of Countess Franciszka Butler has been remembered by everyone interested in Marijampolė’s history. It is said that the countess once prayed the Rosary, and at the spot where she finished, she instructed that a church and a monastery be built, inviting the Marijon Monks to settle there. This marked the beginning of Marijampolė. One of the museum’s exhibitions, The White Marists, is dedicated to the story about the Marijon monks and displays gifts of art and liturgical items given by Countess Butler to the monastery.

Restoring the Marijonai Monks Order was one of Jurgis Matulaitis’s most important achievements. He also founded two women’s congregations, led the Diocese of Vilnius, improved Lithuania’s relations with the Holy See, and served people regardless of their nationality or social status.

Among the personal items, documents, and photographs in the main museum exhibition is a hand and leg brace worn by Matulaitis, who suffered from bone tuberculosis. His earthly remains rest in the right chapel of Marijampolė’s St. Michael the Archangel Basilica, where a small display also exhibits the posthumous mask of one of Lithuania’s most prominent Catholic figures.