The Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic basilica in Šiluva, Lithuania. The basilica is famous for the annual mass feasts dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Part of its organ dates back to the 18th century.
The shrine venerates the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary titled as Our Lady of Siluva. Pope John Paul II raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via his Pontifical decree Constat Intra Fines on 6 May 1988.
The first church was built in 1457 by P. Gedgaudas. He is believed to have brought the painting of Our Lady from Rome.
After the apparitions, Father Kazakevicius was appointed pastor of the Catholic people in Siluva. In 1624, he built a small wooden church on the site of the original church. It soon proved much too small for the many pilgrims who visited the place.
The pilgrims had heard of the apparitions and of the finding of the cherished image, which was placed above the main altar of the church. People from all over Lithuania flocked to Siluva to visit the little church and to pay homage to the Mother of God.
A much larger church was built in 1641. Consecrated ten years later in 1651, it served many pilgrims for almost 140 years. During this time, offerings continued to come in.
The church of Siluva today – Basilica of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary – is the fourth church to have been built on that spot. The new church of renaissance style was built from 1760 to 1775 and solemnly consecrated on September 7, 1786.