Ontario
Most of Canada's Lithuanians live in Ontario and some 85% of Canada's Lithuanian heritage is located there.
Ontario had 8 out of 12 Lithuanian-Canadian churches, for example, the only Lithuanain-Canadian cemetery and much of the Lithuanian secular sites. All the sites have been built after World War 2: while there were some Lithuanians in Ontario before then, their numbers were too small to build anything permanent that would last until today. Only as the patriotic Soviet Genocide refugees (Displaced People) arrived the communities swelled enough and began seeing as creating pieces of Lithuania in Canada as important.
The main Lithuanian area in Ontario is Toronto - the city, together with its suburbs, has over 18000 Lithuanians, or some 1/3rd of Canada's total number. There are three main Lithuanian hubs here, all west from the downtown.
*Immediately next to Downtown there is the secular Lithuanian House, Vilnius Manor senior apartments and a park named after Lithuania. Historically, there were also three Lithuanian parishes, two of which moved further west and one closed.
*Further west, there is the Ressurection Lithuanian parish with a monastery and a nursing home.
*In Mississauga, beyond the official Toronto boundaries, there is "Anapilis" Lithuanian cultural hub that includes a Lithuanian Martyrs church, a museum-archive, and Canada's only Lithuanian cemetery, which is arguably the top Lithuanian sight in Canada.
In every of the Lithuanian hubs there are also Lithuanian credit co-operatives.
Hamilton city is like a mini-Toronto in terms of Lithuanian heritage. It has Ontario's second-largest Lithuanian community, a very ethnically-designed Lithuanian church with a Lithuanian club, Lithuanian senior apartments, Lithuanian credit union and a Lithuanian hunting club.
Lithuanians have also settled in a few of the smaller industrial cities of Ontario: Windsor, London, St. Catharines. In each of them, they have bought church buildings ~1960 and renovated them to be more ethnic. However, as the youth were intermarrying with non-Lithuanians or moving out of the cities, the parishes dwindled. Only in St. Catharines some Lithuanian details of the church and a Lithuanian monument survived (in London, the building was demolished; in Windsor, the building was very modest and does not have anything Lithuanian anymore).
Uniquely Lithuanian is the tobacco-growing area around Delhi. The Lithuanians there worked in (and later also bought) farms rather than factories. The community is one of the oldest as many Lithuanians came there before World War 2. The community once covered many villages but its center always was Delhi where Lithuanians have a church and are represented in the local museum.
As Lithuanians lived longer in the cities, many began to feel a need to also spend some time in nature, at least in the summers. They had fond memories of Palanga, the top Lithuanian resort, and found the most similar place in Ontario at Wasaga Beach ~1960. The "Palanga of Canada" soon had two Lithuanian youth camps while many families and elderly Lithuanians would rent (later own) their homes. One of the camps still operates as such ("Kretinga"), serving as a Lithuanian village for Lithuanian youth. Another one turned into a permanent Lithuanian church/club as more and more elderly Lithuanians would retire to Wasaga Beach and live there in winters as well. In Midland near Wasaga Beach, Lithuanians erected a cross for Lithuanian Martyrs that became the most important Lithuanian-Canadian pilgrimage site and also inspired other Canadian groups to do the same.
Further north, there is another Lithuanian camp Romuva that belongs to the Lithuanian Scouuts and Wilno town named after Vilnius, Lithuania. Actually, its main relation with Vilnius is that it was founded by somebody from Vilnius: however, the founder was an ethnic Pole rather than an ethnic Lithuanian.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto is the main hub of Lithuanians in Canada by far. It has multiple large patriotically named Lithuanian hubs established by post-WW2 Lithuanian refugees. Fleeing the Soviet occupation they saw themselves as deportees rather than migrants and devoted their lives to rebuilding a part of Lithuania on Canadian soil. Much of the Toronto Lithuanian heritage dates to 1950s-1980s and is an interesting testament to that occupation diaspora culture. The Toronto Lithuanian community and its heritage are the largest in Canada.
Lithuanian heritage in Toronto is grouped around three hubs: the Lithuanian House near High Park, the Anapilis Lithuanian cultural center in Mississauga and the Resurrection Lithuanian parish in western Toronto.
Downtown Toronto Lithuanian House area
The areas immediately west of Toronto downtown were where the Lithuanians initially settled.
Lithuanian House (1573 Bloor Street West, „Lietuvių namai“) is the city‘s largest secular Lithuanian institution. The building was built in 1922 as a Protestant church but it was acquired in 1971 by Toronto Lithuanians to become a secular hub for Lithuanian culture.
The Lithuanian House has three halls, all of them named after key Lithuanian historical figures and places (Birutė, the wife of grand duke Kęstutis; Gediminas castle of Vilnius; Mindaugas, the first and only king of Lithuania). One of the halls is dedicated to the 650th anniversary of Vilnius city as the center of culture and learning (1974).
One entrance hosts a Lithuanian credit union and yet another an honorary consulate of Lithuania. The Lithuanian House has some 960 members while the credit union has over 6000. Lithuanian House also hosts numerous other Lithuanian organizations, although their numbers have dwindled since the golden years.
Vilnius Manor (1700 Bloor Street West, „Vilniaus rūmai“) next to the Lithuanian Hall has been developed by the Lithuanian Hall to house elderly Lithuanians. Far from simply a senior housing, Vilnius Manor is a unique attempt to create a piece of Lithuania-outside-Lithuania for the Lithuanian refugees who were forced to leave their homeland by the Soviet occupation (1940, 1944) and were never able to come back yet always longed for Lithuania. Its facade is adorned by the Lithuanian traditional Columns of Gediminas symbol and Lithuanian symbols are also abound inside.
Vilnius Manor thus offers a Lithuanian restaurant (residents-only) that prepares Lithuanian meals daily (something absolutely unique in Toronto), Lithuanian TV channels in rooms, a Lithuanian library in the building, many Lithuanian details and artworks in and around the building. Many of the artworks have been created and donated by the residents of the building.
Next to Vilnius Manor, there is a small Lithuanian garden with a Lithuanian pensioner‘s club shrine in the garden (erected 2013). The shrine is called „rūpintojėlis“ although it does not include this traditional Lithuanian image of a pensive Jesus. It has been created by artists Algis Gelažauskas, Petras Pečiulis, Gintas Repečka, Jonas Slivinskas.
The life in Vilnius Manor is comfortable as most inhabitants live alone in their apartments with balconies. Access to the subway is direct from Vilnius Manor. There are also facilities like sauna, summer terrace, rentable rooms for personal celebrations.
Therefore, there is a constant queue of elderly Lithuanians wishing to live here after retirement.
A few blocks westwards the Lithuanian Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (1691 Bloor St W) stands, however, the Lithuanian parish has been closed down ~2017 as the parish became smaller (129 members in 2008, 92 in 2012). This church had been established in 1951 and looks like a smallish dark red home. A Lithuanian community size of that in Toronto warranted its own Lutheran church because while in today's Lithuania Lutherans make up merely 0,6% of the population, before World War 2 that percentage stood at 9%. Lutherans were especially targeted in the Soviet Genocide, however, so-much-so that in the 1940s the Lutheran community in Lithuania declined even more than the Jewish community during the same period (that included the Holocaust). That said, those Lutherans who fled Lithuania often survived and could continue their faith; among diaspora there they continued to make a significant share of Lithuanians (probably ~5% in Toronto).
As the generations changed, however, the youth would often marry non-Lithuanian-Lutherans and leave the parish, leading to its slow decline.
The worship service used to be held in both Lithuanian and English in the Toronto Lithuanian Lutheran church but only the English worship service remains now. There are no more Lithuanian symbols but an LGBT rainbow flag now hangs there. This signifies more has changed than the ethnicity or the language of the Mass: Lithuanian Lutheran church understands that same-sex relations contradict the Bible teachings, whereas the Lutheran church of Canada which operates in the building now even began celebrating same-sex marriages.
A few blocks north from here near Glenlake Avenue there is a Lithuania Park. It was named so in 1973 when there was a worldwide campaign by Lithuanian diaspora communities to set up Lithuania-related street names in their cities, this way reminding the world about the plight of occupied Lithuania. The park is taken care of by local Lithuanians. However, in 2013, the Toronto council received a petition by 130 persons to rename the park back to its previous Oakmount Park name. Still, the “Lithuania” name remained. The sign is the only Lithuanian detail.
Lithuanian Resurrection church and monastery
The Resurrection Lithuanian Catholic Church itself is the newest Lithuanian church building outside Lithuania, constructed in 2001 as the parish has relocated from downtown.
It forms the heart of a larger Lithuanian hub that covers several addresses (1-5 Resurrection Road) and is outflanked by Lithuanian and Canadian flags. It is commonly unlocked.
Form follows function here and the church itself (architect J. Švedas) is just a small part of the entire complex. The church is usually unlocked and one may witness some glorious stained glass Windows relocated from the previous Resurrection church, such as the Our Lady of Vilnius one (that includes images of Vilnius buildings and Columns of Gediminas) and the St. Casimir one (that also incorporates images of Vilnius).
When these images were created, Lithuania was still occupied and beyond the reach of Lithuanian-Canadians, making them wish to see these locations at least in their church. Therefore, the church had lots of Lithuanian memorabilia that has been moved to the current location in 2001. In fact, the new church was constructed on purpose in such a way that old stained glass windows would fit. Behind the altar, there is a statue of Jesus with a red light on his bosom, representing his blood.
Outside of the church, a group of three traditional Lithuanian chapel-posts stands, while the church „tower“ (actually more like a high roof) is covered by a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross that combines Catholic and Pagan symbolism into one Lithuanian whole. Those are among the few external symbols to show the church as Lithuanian.
The church building also includes parish hall where post-mass Lithuanian gatherings take place, as well as sport and other activities. The church is united with a monastery where the Lithuanian Franciscan fathers that serve the church live.
Other institutions built for Lithuanian needs next to the church are the Resurrection credit union and the Labdara Lithuanian nursing home.
Like Vilnius Manor, "Labdara" provides a Lithuanian zone for elderly Lithuanians to live (with Lithuanian memorabilia, Lithuanian feast celebrations, Lithuanian meals). However, unlike Vilnius Manor, Labdara is a nursing home - that means, it is meant for seniors not capable to fully look after themselves. Labdara is the only such Lithuanian institution in the entire Canada. It was established in 2002 and constructed in 2010. 90 people live there in beds subsidized by Ontario government.
Not far from the Ressurection Lithuanian hub there is "Parama" main building, which is yet another Lithuanian credit union of Toronto area.
“Anapilis“ Lithuanian cultural hub and cemetery of Mississauga
The Mississauga suburb has a major Lithuanian center Anapilis (2185 Stavebank Rd.) which also has a modernist Lithuanian Martyrs church, Lithuanian secular centre „Anapilis“ and Lithuanian cemetery. Interestingly, the Lithuanian „Anapilis“ (literally „another castle“) typically means the afterlife (i.e. world after death), although official explanation here is that it means the world after emigration.
Lithuanian Martyrs church, constructed in 1974 (architect Kulpa-Kulpavičius), was the first church in the world to have this name which had a symbolic meaning while Lithuania was occupied: martyrs may also mean Lithuanians tortured and/or murdered by the Soviets for their beliefs. Befitting its name, the church‘s stained glass windows depict such martyrs: archbishops Mečislovas Reinys and Teofilius Matulionis, bishop Vincentas Borisevčius, as well as an „unknown female martyr“, presumably one of the thousands of Lithuanian women raped and killed by the Soviets (the stained-glass windows were created by Albinas Elskus and Juozas Bakis). The altar (by Ramojus Mazoliauskas) incorporates traditional Lithuanian sun-crosses, as does the exterior. The church is usually locked.
The Lithuanian hub in these areas is older: the local St. John Lithuanian cemetery had been opened in 1960. The cemetery is extremely ethnic, as it attracts those Lithuanians who care the most about their heritage and thus wish to be buried among compatriots from all over Canada. Therefore, most graves have Lithuanian symbols on them and many have Lithuanian inscriptions, sometimes dedicated to that lost "Homeland beyond the ocean".
Additionally, numerous Lithuanian monuments have been constructed in the center of the cemetery. Among them is the Monument for those who gave their lives for Lithuania‘s liberty (1988). When it was commissioned, Lithuania was still under a deep Soviet occupation and its independence seemed impossible yet soon after its completion the drive for Lithuanian independence became an unstoppable tide, with it being declared in 1990. The memorial was erected by Lithuanian-Canadian Šauliai. Variously translated as Riflemen or National Guard, Šauliai is a patriotic organization that has been banned and especially persecuted by the Soviets, forcing many of them to flee to America and continuing the fight there by encouraging the governments not to recognize the independence of Lithuania.
An older similar memorial has been erected in 1968.
Even more massive is the Mississauga Hill of Crosses, inspired by the Hill of Crosses at Šiauliai, Lithuania. It was erected in the 1990s as the Toronto Lithuanians learned about the Lithuanian Hill of Crosses while watching the Papal visit to the newly-independent Lithuania. It started as an exhibition of Lithuanian crosses by the Lithuanians who immigrated to Canada from Punskas/Seinai area of Poland. After the exhibition, they were moved here. The crosses continue to be erected there: one of the latest is 2018 cross dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the church, 90th anniversary of the parish and 100th anniversary of the cemetery‘s founder. An older cross is dedicated to 70th anniversary of the parish.
Next to the Hill of Crosses, there is a Lithuanian Martyrs memorial chapel, erected in 1969 by the architect Vladas Liačas, in the form of a contempt Jesus. It is a traditional form of Lithuanian art called Rūpintojėlis although traditionally it is built of wood. Here, it is built of concrete. After the Hill of Crosses was built nearby, the chapel itself has been also crowned by a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross. The back of the chapel is covered in Lithuanian ethnic patterns.
Behind the chapel and the Hill of Crosses a monument for „Mary, the mother of exiled Lithuanians“ has been erected in 2011. It commemorates the exiles of 1941 06 14 when the Soviet Union, having had occupied Lithuania beforehand, expelled 2% of the entire nation to the inhospitably cold Siberian hinterland within a period of a single week. The expulsions were stopped by the Nazi German invasion but were resumed after 1944 and remain a painful memory for most Lithuanians.
Almost anybody who mattered in the Lithuanian-Canadian community is buried in the St. John‘s Lithuanian Cemetery. The most famous burial is that of historian Adolfas Šapoka. His somewhat romanticized „History of Lithuania“ was essentially the official one in pre-WW2 Lithuania. Learned by all the schoolchildren of the era, its stories continued to inspire generations of Lithuanians during the Soviet occupation and only after some 2000 would alternative histories of Lithuania be seriously considered. Actually, Šapoka died before the St. John Cemetery was built and was later reinterred there.
Less famous but no less important is the burial of priest Ažubalis, the founder of the cemetery. In Canada, ethnic cemeteries do not exist as that would be seen as ethnic discrimination. Therefore, creating St. John cemetery required a major effort. At the same time, Ažubalis essentially started Anapilis. Ažubalis is almost legendary among Lithuanian-Canadians, especially the stories how he managed to create the cemetery by giving a drunk bishop a document to sign or how he managed to escape Nazi concentration camp by promising Nazis that he would be the priest of Gestapo should they set him free, and then immediately running away, ending up in Canada.
Other personalities include Jonas Matulionis, the first chairman of the Global Lithuanian Community. This seminal organization was established in 1949-1958 to preserve Lithuanity abroad. At that time, Lithuanians who fled the Soviet occupation understood that the occupation was to be long-term: Soviets defeated the Lithuanian guerilla campaign, most of the Lithuanian patriots who remained were murdered or expelled from Lithuania and those who fled were long since relocated by the Allies from the refugee camps in Europe (still rather close to Lithuania) to more permanent and more far-away locations such as Canada. Unlike in the refugee camps where Lithuanians still formed tight communities, they were now spread among non-Lithuanians in each foreign land. They understood that their families would assimilate soon if nothing was done, while Lithuanians who remained in Lithuania may as well be all but wiped out in the Soviet Genocide, making the Lithuanian culture extinct. That's where the Global Lithuanian Community came into place. It was essentially a "nation without territory" but with its own constitution (Charter), parliament, school system (that taught Lithuanian on Saturdays), religious system and so on. Jonas Matulionis was, essentially, its first president, while its citizens were all the Lithuanians who lived outside the Soviet sphere of influence. The organization lives on, albeit with different goals since Lithuania became independent in 1990.
Several Lithuanian consuls to Toronto are buried there too: as Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, they could not have been buried in Lithuania. The longest-serving one was Jonas Žmuidzinas, who served for nearly half of the Cold War: from 1959 to 1982.
There is a row of priest graves, forming a symbolic memorial.
The cemetery gate is far from prosaic as well: created ~1980 by artist Rimas Paulionis, they too have Lithuanian symbols on them: Columns of Gediminas and the sun-crosses.
The Lithuanian secular center „Anapilis“ (built in 1973) includes three halls for Lithuanian events, „Tėviškės žiburiai“ (Homeland Lights) newspaper (published 1949-2019 and online since). The most important institution there is the Lithuanian-Canadian Museum Archives (built in 1987, opened 1989). It is the only institution that thoroughly collects, catalogs, preserves and displays archival records, books, museum artifacts, rare books, ephemera related to the Lithuanian-Canadian community. It does not actually work as a permanent museum but it offers 3-4 temporary Lithuania-related exhibitions every year (both in this building and elsewhere). Outside of these times, it is still possible to visit the archives for personal research about Lithuanian-Canadians, their organizations, and their heritage.
Unlike the very Lithuanian cemetery, „Anapilis“ and Lithuanian Martyrs church are modernist and rather international in design on the exterior. Only the interiors hold Lithuanian details.
Former locations of Toronto Lithuanian churches
Historically, the Lithuanian churches of Toronto used to be located in or near downtown.
What is now the Lithuanian Martyrs church in Mississauga used to be St. John the Baptist Lithuanian parish. The St. John the Baptist church still stands in central Toronto and, even though no longer Lithuanian, still has a few Lithuanian details.
Lithuanians acquired the towerless building from Presbyterians in 1928, thus establishing the first Lithuanian parish and the first important Lithuanian institution in Toronto.
As the fledgling Lithuanian community was joined by thousands of religious refugees from the Soviet-occupied Lithuania in the 1940s, the church had to be expanded and it was important to give it more Lithuanian character. The expansion of 1954-1956 added not only more space and a tower but also a symbolic traditional Lithuanian village house roof with a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross on top.
In 1975, as the parish relocated to Mississauga (after long debates), the former building was left to other Catholic communities (now Hispanic). The sun-cross built on top of a traditional Lithuanian „roof“ are now the sole two remaining Lithuanian details.
The former Resurrection church is now demolished and replaced by apartments (on College St between Rusholme Park Crescent and Rusholme Road). This parish, the second, in Toronto, was established after World War 2 in order to accommodate the newly arriving refugees. The church was built in 1956 but it never fulfilled the architect's vision: in fact, what was erected was envisioned to be only a parish hall while what was planned to be a church was never erected. Instead, seeing the drift of Lithuanian-Canadians westwards, the parish decided to relocate, selling the former building ~2000.
Not far away from this church, the Lithuanian nuns have established a Lithuanian kindergarten in 1955 (near the corner of Differin and Sylvan streets). It still operates although it has nothing to do with Lithuanians today (since 1999).
What is now the Slovak- and Polish- Lutheran Grace church near the corner of Davenport and Dufferin streets briefly served as a Lutheran church for Lithuanians from Lithuania Minor after World War 2 until that parish disintegrated (at that time, Lithuanian Lutheran community was divided between those who hailed from parts of Lithuania that were ruled by the Russian Empire before 1918 and those who came from parts of Lithuania ruled by Germany before 1918. The latter were often somewhat Germanized culturally and sometimes preferred the German language for mass even if they spoke Lithuanian natively - they used the Grace parish. The rest established the Redeemer parish).
Lithuanian House moved as well, albeit to a much closer location. Its original location used to be a now-unmarked building on the corner of Dundas St. W and Ossington St. That building was acquired by the Lithuanian House in 1952 and the Lithuanian House moved to the current larger building from there in 1971.
Before World War 2 there were some far-left Lithuanians who didn't go to church and had their own club at 160 Claremont. After the Soviets occupied Lithuania, however, the far-left ideas slowly declined.
Famous Lithuanian graves outside St. John cemetery
While nearly all the more famous Lithuanians are buried in the St. John Lithuanian cemetery, at least one – consul Vytautas Gylys – is buried separately in Park Lawn cemetery (section V). He was a consul-general of Lithuania in Toronto from 1949 to 1959. At the time Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, however, Canada did not recognize such occupation. Lithuanian embassies and consulates in countries such as Canada arguably thus were the final unoccupied areas of Lithuania.
The map of Lithuanian heritage sites of Toronto area
All the Lithuanian heritage locations of Toronto are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is the third largest Lithuanian center in Canada after Toronto and Montreal. It has very diverse Lithuanian heritage: church, youth center, senior apartments, credit union and hunter‘s club, all of them especially Lithuanian in design.
Hamilton Lithuanian church
It would be impossible to say now that Hamilton Lithuanian church until 1948 was an unused chapel. After being given that chapel by the bishopric, Lithuanians converted it into a shrine for not only the Christian faith but also their ethnic heritage. These Lithuanians were refugees who fled the Soviet occupation of Lithuania (1944), most of them wanted to return but were unable to, so they created a piece of lost homeland in this church.
In Lithuanian, the church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, a famous miraculous image of the Virgin Mary in Vilnius, Lithuania (located in the Gate of Dawn there). A copy of that image is above the altar. In English, though the name is simplified as „Our Lady of Mercy“.
Initially, Lithuanians had little money, so the church was built gradually, with the first expansion done in 1953. The tower and front extension were built that has some of the prettiest stained-glass windows: several of them are actually secular, dedicated to Lithuanian history. One shows a „school of sorrow“: a secret Lithuanian language school during the era Lithuanian language was banned by the Russian Empire that then ruled Lithuania (1865-1908). Another one shows a Lithuanian freedom fighter of the struggle against the Soviet regime (1945-1953), the longest post-WW2 guerilla war in Europe, with an inscription „Žuvome už Tėvynę“ (we died for our homeland).
Religious stained glass windows are also closely related to Lithuania and its plight. Two of the stained-glass windows depict archbishop Teofilius Matulionis (murdered by the Soviets) and blessed Jurgis Matulaitis. The stained glass window over the choir depicts St. Casimir (the only Lithuanian saint) with an inscription „Šv. Kazimierai, melskis už mus“ (St. Casimir, pray for us) and colors reminiscent of the Lithuanian tricolor.
Even where details are not directly related to Lithuania, they are signed in Lithuanian: every saint that is depicted in a stained glass window anywhere, or on the vault paintings, has his name written in Lithuanian under it, also Lithuanian are the explanations under the stations of the cross. The Virgin Mary stained glass window has „Marija, gelbėk Lietuvą“ (Mary, save Lithuania) inscribed under it.
The images of the Virgin Mary near the altar are copies of famous Maryan paintings in Lithuania: that of Krekenava and Žemaičių Kalvarija towns.
The stained-glass windows continue to be added and there are still clear windows that are not yet replaced by the stained-glass windows. The last stained-glass window was added in ~2001, however.
The church also includes a small memorial with the images of those killed by Russians on January 13th, 1991 and a cross dedicated to the 600th anniversary of Lithuanian Christening (1387) and 70th anniversary of Lithuanian independence declaration (1918).
Outside the church, a traditional Lithuanian chapel post stands. It is dedicated to the martyrs of Lithuania (Lithuanians murdered by the Soviets).
Hamilton Lithuanian church is regularly unlocked.
Next to the church stands the Hamilton Lithuanian Youth center where the youth activities used to take place and many Lithuanian organizations were hubbed. Old images of the huge Lithuanian dance festival reminds of those times as today the large hall is mainly used for post-Mass meetings of the Lithuanians. As many of them formed mixed families and the offspring often speak better English than Lithuanian, the number of parishioners declined and the average age grew rapidly.
Lithuanian details include a
Rambynas pensioner house
This apartment block adorned with patriotic Column of Gediminas symbol has been established by the Lithuanian community of Hamilton in 1982 for the elderly Lithuanians for whom it became too difficult to take care of their own detached homes.
While the function is prosaic, the aim to create a Lithuanian atmosphere is what separates Rambynas from other similar projects. Lithuanian atmosphere was especially important for the Lithuanian DPs – refugees who had fled the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in the 1940s. By 1982, many of them were aging and they wanted to age in as Lithuanian atmosphere as possible.
Later, however, the majority of the tenants were non-Lithuanians although the Lithuanian component is still strong and the Lithuanian details remain.
Talka credit cooperative
Yet another column-of-Gediminas adorned a building in Hamilton is „Talka“ credit cooperative, part of a string of ethnic credit cooperatives founded by Lithuanians to help each other save money and lend other Lithuanians in need.
Talka was established by a Lithuanian banker Ernestas Lengnikas who, after immigrating to Canada as a refugee fleeing the Soviet occupation, found out that he could not get a similar job in Canada if he speaks no English. Therefore, he effectively established his own bank, catering to Lithuanian-speakers. His painting still adorns the interior.
Talka still has many Lithuanian employees albeit its services are no longer limited to Lithuanians. The current building dates to 1983.
Giedraitis club
Hamilton Lithuanians‘ own country club! 30 acres (12 ha) of land (~400x200 m) have been acquired in 1966. The club is officially dedicated to anglers and hunters and has two shooting ranges. However, it also serves for simple countryside events and festivals, mostly in summer, as the landscape is pretty, includes both fields and forests, as well as a lake island.
For such purposes, a clubhouse has been constructed in 1985, which includes one small hall in the basement and one large hall. In the hall, club trophies are also kept.
In Hamilton of the 1960s, such club was a real pride for the Lithuanian community. Many ethnic groups had similar clubs in Hamilton but just a few of them owned lands or big shooting ranges. They would compete with each other in ethnic shooting championships.
However, the fortunes turned against such clubs as Canada limited its gun ownership rights and imposed more stringent rules on the shooting ranges (~1990s). To more and more people, shooting was less and less fun due to bureaucracy and the youth failed to embrace the sport. As such, the number of members declined in the Giedraitis club from some 200 at its peak to just some 50 ~2019.
Other sites
Historically, Hamilton also had a Lithuanian Hous. It had been established in a former cinema acquired by Lithuanians in 1956. The building still stands albeit it is no longer Lithuanian. The original intention of the Lithuanians was this to be a temporary building the rent of which would help cover the acquisition of a permanent Lithuanian Home. By 1979, however, such goals still seemed to be unrealistic and the organization was liquidated. The building is at King Street near Main Street with an inscription "Deltonia Building".
The map of Lithuanian heritage sites of Hamilton area
All the Lithuanian heritage locations of Hamilton are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Wasaga Beach, Ontario
To Lithuanians, Wasaga Beach is the „Palanga of Canada“. This no little feat since Palanga is the largest resort of Lithuania and one of the largest on the Baltic Sea.
Lithuanians who moved to Canada after World War 2 had nostalgic feelings to Palanga and, once it became possible, they bought their own summer homes in the area near Toronto that resembled Palanga the most: the pretty coasts and forests of Wasaga Beach.
Lithuanian camp „Kretinga“of Wasaga Beach
„Kretinga“ Lithuanian camp of Wasaga Beach is far more than a campsite: it is a kind of Lithuanian village that attracts Lithuanian children and teenagers from all over Canada. During summers, each week is dedicated to some particular group of people (e.g. „Lithuanian-speaking teens“, „English speaking teens of Lithuanian descent“) who come to „Kretinga“ and spend the week in a forest amidst Lithuanian symbols.
Among such symbols is the mystical Kretinga Hill of Crosses in the forest having a few large crosses and modeled after the one in Šiauliai. Crosses include one based on the Ateitininkai symbol (a Lithuanian Christian youth organization), one dedicated to Algirdas Trumpickas (influential in the operation of "Kretinga" camp), one wooden post is dedicated to Kretinga camp itself (1992). One of the crosses is symbolically fallen down.
In the center of the camp, the main hall has its walls covered in Lithuanian artworks created by the visitors of the camp (each year a new one is made). One mural is on the exterior – it depicts the history of Lithuanian independence (1987-1991). Next to the building, a map of Lithuania is a land art that shows the map of the old big Lithuania (before World War 2).
The map is deteriorated though as the camp has been established in 1955.
There are also basketball courts and buildings where those camping lives at. ~100 children camp there at a single time.
Three streets around Kretinga camp are named in Lithuanian: Wydunas (after a Lithuanian philosopher Vydūnas), and Nida, as well as Baltic Street.
Kretinga itself is named after a Lithuanian city of Kretinga, the first one where Franciscan monks became established in Lithuania. That is because Krteinga is owned by Franciscans. It thus also includes numerous religious references, including a small Jurgis Matulaitis Catholic chapel, a mass during the camp activities and, rather unusually, a pet cemetery: Lithuanian Franciscans of Canada have a tradition of keeping a pet in their monastery of Toronto and Kretinga is where they are buried after death.
Wasaga Beach Lithuanian church
Wasaga Beach Lithuanian church of Good Shepherd is located in a small building on the opposite side of Wasaga Beach from „Kretinga“, some 20 km away.
The church has a unique design: its main room can be transformed from a church into a hall by merely covering the altar. The back wall of the church also opens, allowing the alter and the priest to be visible from the outside where there also pews and the faithful could gather. Very appropriate for a church of a resort.
The austere interior still has a galore of Lithuanian symbols. The altar is surrounded by Lithuanian symbols, among the most prominent being the Three Crosses, one of the symbols of Vilnius that has been destroyed by the Soviets at the time Wasaga Beach church was constructed. Also, there is Rūpintojėlis, a Lithuanian flag, a copy of Our Lady of Vilnius painting.
On the front of the church, there is a Lithuanian traditional wooden cross, as well as Lithuanian wooden artworks relocated from London (Ontario) Our Lady of Šiluva Lithuanian church that had been demolished.
In the 1950s or 1970s, Wasaga Beach was largely a summer community and thus no year-round mass or Lithuanian activities took place. When the small church was constructed in 1955, it was constructed as a summer-only edifice. It mostly served the local Good Shepherd camp, owned by what is now the Lithuanian Martyrs parish of Mississauga. However, this camp was later (1973) closed down in favor of Camp Kretinga. Its buildings were demolished, save for the church and the so-called „rectory“ behind the church now used for post-Mass events and essentially serving as a small Lithuanian club.
While kids left this area of Wasaga, more and more older people came in: many of them would leave Toronto or Hamilton for good when retired, moving to their summer homes in Wasaga Beach. In 1974, 3 Lithuanian families permanently lived in Wasaga Beach and 15-16 in the surroundings and the numbers were growing.
In 1993, the Good Shepherd mission was thus consecrated as a permanent church, now heated in winter. In the summers, the church used to be full both inside and outside while in the winters, as temporary residents would move out, it is less full.
Midland Lithuanian Martyrs shrine
The cozy and impressive hilltop Canadian Martyrs Shrine in Midland (35 km from Wasaga Beach) may be dedicated to the Jesuit missionaries who were killed by Native Americans and be a popular place for Canadian pilgrimage.
However, in 1957, Lithuanians chose the shrine as a site to erect their own cross for Lithuanian Martyrs, reminding Canada that while being killed for your faith may have been a distant sad past in America, it was still a real issue „behind the Iron Curtain“ where religious Lithuanians were persecuted by the Soviet atheist regime. The cross was initially wooden but replaced by a more permanent metal one in 1972.
The Lithuanian cross then became a destination for annual Lithuanian pilgrimages. More impressively, the cross began a tradition among Canada‘s minorities to create their own shrines near the Canadian Martyrs shrine, thus making the surroundings of the shrine into a kind of an international religious park where one can see how the same Christian faith may have different symbols and interpretations in different countries.
Interestingly, the Polish shrine also includes a sculpture of Divine Mercy, based on the painting of Divine Mercy that was painted (and still exists) in Vilnius, Lithuania. That is because the painting was created according to visions of a Polish nun Faustina Kowalska, who resided in Vilnius at the time. Arguably Divine Mercy has an even bigger following in Poland than in Lithuania.
The map of Lithuanian heritage sites of Wasaga Beach area
All the Lithuanian heritage locations of Wasaga Beach are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Delhi, Ontario
Delhi is a traditional region of tobacco growing. It is unique in Lithuanian America, as it is one of merely two areas where Lithuanians in North America typically worked in farms rather than in factories or mines. Also, unlike in most of Canada, where most Lithuanians are Soviet-era refugees and descendants (i.e. immigrated after World War 2), Lithuanians began moving into Delhi en-masse in the 1920s-1930s.
St. Casimir Lithuanian church in Delhi town may be small and austere, however, in a town of merely 4000 inhabitants its mere existence may seem rather miraculous. By the 2010s, this was the smallest town in the Americas where the Lithuanian mass was held. Sadly, the church closed for good in 2020 and was transformed into a home.
The church was made possible as the Delhi area has a strong Lithuanian history, as many Lithuanians have worked in the tobacco plantations of the surrounding areas and, later, even owned them. Up to ~500 of them would typically drive to the church from places far and wide; in order to make it easier for the farmers to participate, the Lithuanian Sunday mass used to take place in the evenings. The church was so intertwined with the farming life that the parishioners used to buy tobacco together in order to achieve a stronger bargaining position and a discount, part of which used to be donated to the church.
St. Casimir Lithuanian church was originally constructed as a general Catholic church (St. John of Brebeuf) in 1933 but acquired by Lithuanians after World War 2 (1960) as the non-ethnic-based Catholic church built a new bigger building for itself. The church includes the main hall above and a secular hall in the basement where non-religious activities would take place.
At that time of church acquisition, the pre-WW2 Delhi area Lithuanian community was swelled by refugees from Soviet-occupied Lithuania. Many of them were religious and patriotic, and so the Delhi Lithuanian church became a hub of Lithuanian religion and patriotism.
The cross behind the church altar was a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross, there also are modest Lithuanian artworks in the basement hall. That said, given that it is basically a small village church, unlike in the bigger Lithuanian-Canadian parishes, the Lithuanian details are more modest and fewer in numbers.
Lithuanian patriotism was primarily marked by the Lithuanian Martyrs cross outside of the church, erected in 1966 by architect V. Zubas and craftsman J. Vitkauskas. The cross is dedicated to those who died for faith and freedom in Lithuania – that is, were murdered in the Soviet Genocide or died fighting the Soviet occupation. Even though the Lithuanian refugees chose an alternative option of fleeing Lithuania, they always regarded those who remained as heroes and victims. After the closure of the church, the cross was moved the Hill of Crosses at the Lithuanian cemetery in Mississauga.
The refugees, or so-called DPs, always formed nearly all the congregation of the St. Casimir church. While there was a strong Lithuanian community in the Delhi area tobacco plantations even before World War 2, those earlier Lithuanians mostly did not join as many of them were successfully influenced by Soviet propaganda. In fact, the Delhi area had some of the largest friction between the post-WW2 refugees and the pre-WW2 Lithuanian community.
Affected by the Soviet propaganda, the old leftist tobacco farmers of the Delhi area often even viewed the refugees as criminals: they believed that nobody who was not a real criminal had any reason to flee the „Soviet Paradise“ as, surely, Soviets would not execute or torture anybody without reason. After all, most of these tobacco farmers emigrated from Lithuania to Canada in the 1920s and 1930s, well before the occupation of Lithuania.
For the refugees who just witnessed the Soviet Genocide of 1940-1941, the attitude of the pre-WW2 Lithuanian-Canadians of the Delhi area was simply incomprehensible: the „old Lithuanians of Delhi“ were either naive idiots or collaborating traitors. They wouldn‘t go to the Lithuanian Club of the area owned by old Lithuanians that has since closed.
Nearly no new immigrants from Lithuania came to the Delhi area in the 1950s-1980s as the Soviet Union would not let Lithuanians out so 1944 was the last year it was possible to flee. At the same time, despite the efforts of the DP generation, the Delhi community slowly assimilated: Lithuanian Saturday school was closed in 1987, for example, due to a lack of children (children of mixed families typically did not attend, much of the youth also departed to the cities, studying there and having what they saw as better urban lives). After Lithuania became independent in 1990 there were still few immigrants here as the tobacco industry was already on the decline. The only new Lithuanians were typically the few who had relatives in the area.
As such, while the Lithuanian church still was full of people in the 1980s (mostly aging), merely a few parishioners attended each Sunday mass in 2019, leading to its closure in late 2020.
Now, the multiethnic heritage of Delhi is concentrated in its Tobacco industry museum, which has exhibits on every influential ethnicity of the area, including Lithuanians (some others: Ukrainians, Poles, Hungarians, Belgians, British, Slovaks). There are also flags of each immigrant ethnicity there and in the town center. No less important than the rather simple exhibition are various ethnic activities that are organized there and help people remember their roots.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines Lithuanian community was small yet it created one of the most Lithuanian-looking churches of Canada. While no longer used by Lithuanians, the church still has a Memorial to Lithuania on the outside, with the words „To Lithuania“ („Lietuvai“) chiseled on it and a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross on the top. There is also a Lithuanian inscription on the cornerstone (something that is rare in Canada).
St. Mary of the Angels church began operating in 1949, in a simple house. During 1955-1964, it was reconstructed by the most famous Lithuanian-Canadian architect Kulpa-Kulpavičius who introduced the ethnic details and turned the building into a real church.
This would not have been possible if not the Lithuanian Franciscan monks. At the time, the ranks of Lithuanian monks abroad swelled as the Soviet Union has occupied Lithuania in the 1940s and banned monastic orders there. Staying in Lithuania meant death or torture for many monks, without much real possibility to continue their work. Thus, many monks fled and worked among the distant Lithuanian emigrant communities such as the one in St. Catharines, Ontario, and they needed monasteries for that.
Officially, the church was a chapel of that monastery but for the communities of St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls and beyond it served as the only Lithuanian church and the place for Lithuanian activities. For example, between 1949 and 1964 it has Christened 87 children and had 356 members.
Like most Lithuanian churches abroad, the St. Catharines one promoted ethnic activity: Lithuanian scouts, Lithuanian folk dances and songs, etc.
Thus, the chapel had an entirely secular patriotic entrance mural depicting the rise of the Lithuanian flag in the Gediminas Hill of Vilnius (by S. Šetkus), as well as another mural depicting Lithuanian village women praying for killed Lithuanians (also by S. Šetkus). It also had a modern-style door with bilingual inscriptions („Franciscan Fathers - Šv. Marijos koplyčia“ – „Franciscan Fathers – St. Mary chapel“) and a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross above its main triangular entrance.
However, this and other Lithuanian details of the interior, as well as religious details on the exterior, no longer survives as the church has been acquired by Antiochan rite Orthodox church ~2011 as the Lithuanian community dwindled. For a while, Lithuanian mass still continued there but not anymore. According to the new owners, Lithuanians themselves (or rather the Roman Catholic diocese) has actually removed the art before the building transfer. Currently, the building operates as St. Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Church.
The monument „to Lithuania“ was kept by the new owners. Some of its religious symbols (the image of Virgin Mary) were removed, presumably before the sale but the Lithuanian sun-cross survives.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Romuva and northern Ontario
Nearly all Lithuanian-Canadian heritage is concentrated in the short strip of Ontario and Quebec close to the US border, where the main cities are.
As time passed, however, urban Lithuanians often sought for a place in the pristine countryside of Canada, thus creating their own camps, resorts, and country clubs in the forests some 200-300 kilometers north of Toronto.
The most famous of such Lithuanian resorts Wasaga Beach is described in a separate article, together with nearby Midland.
Lithuanian-related sites further north from Wasaga Beach are the Romuva Lithuanian Scout camp, Lithuanian hunters club and Wilno town, named after Lithuania's capital Vilnius.
Romuva Lithuanian Scout Camp
Romuva is a league of its own: a piece of truly Lithuanian countryside amidst beautiful Canadian forests 230 km north of Toronto, on the shores of Fox Lake.
Beginning at a beautiful wooden gate, the area includes numerous Lithuanian memorials, as well as pretty vistas. Every building here has something Lithuanian in it – at least a Lithuanian name.
The most famous monument in the Romuva camp is the Romuva camp gate, built in 1970. It became a symbol of the camp.
Romuva was developed in the 1960s as a camp for Lithuanian Scouts. In comparison to other Canadian scouts, Lithuanian scouts have an additional goal of promoting the Lithuanian heritage. Scouts who came here were meant to have an opportunity to speak Lithuanian and meet other Lithuanians. Only here (and in the USA) could the idea of Lithuanian scouting be passed onto the next generation: Lithuania itself was occupied by the Soviet Union at the time (1940-1990) and being a boy scout was sometimes a death sentence there.
The main scout camps continue every year (a week in the summer with some 150 campers) but Romuva also attracts Lithuanians outside of these times for spending time in nature, angling, and other activities. Even in the deep Canadian winter they would come here and build temporary shelters in the snow.
Even outside the main, the Lithuanian atmosphere is created by all the history and monuments here. A cross erected in 1972 is dedicated to the Lithuanian sea scouts who celebrated their 50th anniversary then. The flag square includes a memorial with cross erected prior to 1970s for the Lithuanian scouts who died in wars. In the square during the camping days, the flags are raised: nearly always the Lithuanian and Canadian flags and also the flags of any other countries Lithuanians had come to camp from (often the USA, sometimes Australia).
There is also a Map of Lithuania land art monument: the map here is not that of Lithuania today but that of Lithuania in 1918-1940 that the builders of Romuva hoped to once restore.
The camp name Romuva means a Lithuanian pagan temple: while most Lithuanian scouts are Roman Catholics, the history of Lithuanians being the final Pagan country in Europe is still important.
The camp includes multiple buildings. The main hall of Romuva (the only larger building in the camp) is adorned with many artworks, each one of them created by one of the campers of one of the past summer camps. Each summer thus one additional artwork is created and left in the hall for the future generations of the scouts and others who use Romuva. Thus, the main hall also serves as a kind of museum of the camp.
Romuva also has several houses where people can lodge, 12 people per house. They are named after Lithuanian localities. However, this being a scout camp, most of the campers actually live in tents in numerous sub-camps located in pretty natural landscapes around the area, so some 100-250 people camp there in total every summer. Originally, the summer camp used to take two weeks but has been reduced to one week.
The camp territory is, however, locked when no one is there and could be visited only if a time is arranged.
There is also a boat shed with a symbol of Lithuanian sea scouts.
The total area of Romuva is 80 acres (31 ha) and it includes 300 meters of lakeshore. Much of the landscape here has been created by Lithuanians, with some trees removed, additional ones planted creating an atmosphere of a cozy park by the lake.
Wilno, Ontario
Wilno is en-route from Romuva to Ottawa.
Wilno – the name of this town – is actually the Polish name of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. While small, Wilno (Ontario) is actually the biggest foreign location named after Vilnius.
The town has been named Wilno because its founder, Ludwik Dembski, hailed from the Polish-speaking community of Vilnius. He refused to have the town named after himself and so it was named after his hometown.
Most of the settlers of Wilno were actually from a very different part of Poland – Kashubia (near Gdansk). Kashubs are actually a unique minority within Poland and thus some things in the town are now written in three languages: English, Polish, and Kashub. Wilno is proud of its heritage and billed as the oldest Polish settlement in Canada.
Wilno St. Mary of Czestochowa church is the oldest Polish parish in Canada (the church itself dates to the interwar era, however). It also pays homage to Vilnius, as its interior houses the key Catholic figures associated with the city: Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (Our Lady of Vilnius) image, Divine Mercy image (the originals of both are in Vilnius), as well as St. Faustina Kowalska image. St. Faustina was a Pole who, while residing in Vilnius (Lithuania), received visions from Jesus Christ that ended up in the creation of Divine Mercy painting.
Wilno also has a Skansen of Polish-Kashub heritage. The wooden farmsteads are actually not that different from those of Lithuania. Like Lithuania, the Wilno area is proud of its wooden wayside crosses.
Wilno was established in 1858 and a lot reminds the Poland-Lithuania area of the time.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Ottawa, Ontario
The Canadian capital of Ottawa has no historically large Lithuanian community. While there was Lithuanian mass, there was never a Lithuanian church here.
The first Lithuanian site within the city limits appeared on 2018 March 19th as the Ottawa municipality renamed a part of the Crossfield Avenue to Vilnius Avenue. The official Ottawa city website explained the renaming as „Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. Many Lithuanians have helped create the fabric of the region.“. The part of the Crossfield Avenue was renamed as it was confusingly located beyond a park from the rest of the avenue.
Additionally, Ottawa‘s suburb of Carp had Venta preparatory school, established in 1981 as a retirement project of a Lithuanian Agatha Sildauskas (Agota Šidlauskienė), and named after the Lithuanian river of Venta. The school was oriented at „bright but underperforming“ students.
While the school did not teach in Lithuanian (or Lithuanian), the fact that its founder was a Lithuanian made the school a kind of hub for the Lithuanian community of Ottawa that lacked one.
The school went bankrupt in 2018, soon after the death of the founder.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
London, Ontario
London is the only city in Canada that once had rather significant Lithuanian heritage but now has no Lithuanian sites at all.
London Our Lady of Šiluva was the last Lithuanian parish to be established in Canada (1964). It acquired the building of old St. Mark Anglican church but then converted its interior into a highly Lithuanian one, full of Lithuanian artworks: massive traditional Lithuanian cross, an altar for Lithuanian martyrs (killed by the Soviets), etc.
The most famous Lithuanian-Canadian architect Alfredas Kulpa-Kulpavičius led the reconstruction. The name itself was also highly Lithuanian, with Šiluva village of Lithuania being the place of Europe‘s first church-recognized Maryan vision. In the church, both Lithuanian religious and secular activities took place. The secular activities used a spacious lower hall with a stage.
Sadly, the church was closed by the diocese in 2000. In 2006, the closed building was flooded due to a broken pipe. As the building was unused at the time, it took time to notice this and the water made heavy damage which made the repairs costly. Instead of repairing the building, therefore, the diocese decided to demolish the church.
This way, nothing visibly Lithuanian remains in the entire city of London, Ontario, despite there having been a sizeable Lithuanian community that actually still held Lithuanian holy mass in rented premises even after its Our Lady of Šiluva church was lost.
Some Lithuanian traditional wooden artworks from the Our Lady of Šiluva church have been relocated to Wasaga Beach Lithuanian church. The cornerstone is now located on private ground. Altar's background was acquired by the descendants of its creator. The Italian-created wood central statue of Mary Mother and Child was donated to Lithuanian Franciscan center in the USA. The huge Lithuanian byway cross and other items were dispersed into private collections, by way of auction.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor city is separated by just a river from Detroit, Michigan.
Its sole Lithuanian site was St. Casimir Lithuanian church of Windsor. It does not look like a church at all – it operated in a rather regular house. The local Lithuanian community was small and thus was never able to build a „real“ church yet they needed their own building for their activities, choosing to acquire such a house instead in 1963. After getting closed, the building was sold to another church – Life Gate Fellowship Church.
The map of Lithuanian-Canadian sites
All the Lithuanian-Canadian locations are marked on this interactive map, made by the "Destination Lithuanian America" expedition (click the link):
Map of Lithuanian heritage in eastern Midwest
More info on Lithuanian heritage in Ohio, Michigan, Ontario.
Map of Lithuanian heritage in Mid-Atlantic
More info on Lithuanian heritage in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Ontario.
Thunder Bay, Ontario
The most imposing Lithuanian International Friendship Garden monument in Canada is found in Thunder Bay, a small city in northern Ontario, 700 km (430 mi.) east of Winnipeg.
The Lithuanian monument is one of eighteen International Friendship Gardens monuments representing ethnic groups in the Thunder Bay area. The park was organized in 1967 by the local Soroptimist Women's Club to commemorate Canada‘s centennial.
The monument was designed by the noted Canadian-Lithuanian architect Alfredas Kulpa-Kulpavičius. Atop a small elevation, reached by stairs, stands a representation of a wayside shrine made of concrete, with the traditional figure of a Sorrowful Christ inside, created by Jonas Dagys. On the roof of the shrine is a Lithuanian sunburst cross typical in folk art.
There are two marble plaques on the sides of the monument: the first bears the Lithuanian "Vytis“ Coat of Arms inscribed in Lithuanian with the first line of Lithuania‘s National Anthem; the second displays Canada‘s maple leaf and the words "Lithuanian Culture and Work Dedicated to Canada.“
At ground level is a broad pedestal capped with a stone that is engraved with the word "LITHUANIA“ and various emblems and figures of significance to Lithuanians. The inscription reads:"The first Lithuanians came to the Thunder Bay area before the turn of the century in the year 1874, while the major influx was after the Second World War.“ The text continues: "The Sorrowful Christ symbolizes Lithuania‘s long and tragic history of persecution.“
Those Lithuanians who came to Thunder Bay after WWII were fleeing Soviet oppression. And it states further: "Lithuanian-Canadian community dedicates this monument to all Canadians who believe in the dream and promise of the new land, Canada.“
Though it seems the Thunder Bay Lithuanian Community was still around in 1974, when the monument was put up, in the ensuing years it dwindled away, as some Lithuanians lost interest in their culture, while others moved to other parts of Canada.