Gate of Dawn

It's difficult yet for Lithuania to fully understand the meaning of Pope Francis' visit, and the Holy Father should leave Lithuania having become its friend, Lithuania's first post-independence leader Vytautas Landsbergis says.

Pope Francis has landed in Lithuania on Saturday at the start of his four-day Baltic tour during which he will show respect to the three nations' independence and pay homage to the victims of the Nazi and Soviet regimes.

In preparation for Pope Francis’ visit to Lithuania on 22-23 September, Vilnius is inviting visitors from all over the world to discover the city’s pilgrimage routes and the hidden gems of its sacral heritage.

Pope Francis' visit to Lithuania in late September will place the country in the world's spotlight, Gintaras Grušas, the archbishop of Vilnius, said on Tuesday.

The maximum amount of the state's additional spending on organizing Pope Francis' visit to Lithuania later this month goes down from 1.75 million euros to 1.45 million euros, Government Vice-Chancellor Alminas Mačiulis said on Tuesday.

The renovation of the Gate of Dawn Chapel and St. Theresa's Church will start in Vilnius this week, the Archdiocese of Vilnius said on Thursday.

The official program of Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Lithuania has been announced on Thursday.

Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has pledged to take into consideration Lithuania's objections before the government decides on illustration of Polish passports with images of the Vilnius Gate of Dawn.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis met with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party, in Warsaw on Monday night.

Bogdan Borusewicz, a former long-time speaker of the Polish Senate and now an opposition politician, on Tuesday criticized the Interior Ministry's idea of using images of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius in Polish passports.

The background image the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius is losing popularity as a possible choice for the design of new Polish passports, according to the latest results of online voting.

Lithuania's Parliamentary Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis hopes that Warsaw will not ruin relations between the two neighboring states over the proposed illustration for Polish passports, including the Gate of Dawn church in Vilnius.

Images of the Gate of Dawn, a church in Vilnius, should not be used in the new Polish passports, says Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius.