In the historic city of Vilnius, it is one of the oldest Catholic churches of the city - Catholic church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also called the Franciscan, or on the sands of the church of the. The history of this temple is closely associated with the history of the other Franciscan church - the church of the Holy Cross.

The Franciscans were the first who came to Lithuania to attach the pagans to the Catholic faith. Historical documents show that the Franciscans were in Vilnius in 1323, but in those days they did not have their own churches or monasteries.

Different sources indicate different dates of construction of Catholic church: 1387, 1392, 1421. For centuries, the church was destroyed several times in whole or in part by fires. So, after a fire in 1533, the church was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Between 1737 and 1748 years in Vilnius raged, one after another terrible fire. They are not spared and this temple. Each time the temple rebuilt or repaired. In the process of church reconstruction was considerably updated. After the reconstruction in 1764 the church was consecrated. In this form the church survived to the present day.

It is a powerful stone building, in terms of which visible features transition from baroque to classicism. The church has a chapel of St. Jan and St. Laurin. The altar with marble imitation is equipped with six columns. Above them stucco portrait of St. Anthony, framed silver with gold flowers. There were 12 of the side altars. The monastery had a large collection of old books.

During the French invasion in 1812 church did not escape the fate of other churches. The room of the temple was converted into a granary, and placed in the premises of the monastery hospital.

In 1864, the Russian tsarist authorities closed the church. Destructive only escaped the fate of standing apart from the church bell tower in the form of a tower with five bells. It was built in the 16th century. But that was spared the fires, people are not spared. This remarkable historical monument in 1872, was destroyed. It took several decades until in 1934 a church was opened again. Prior to that, services were held in the chapel of the temple.

Soviet power has brought new changes in the fate of the suffering church. In 1949, the church and the monastery were nationalized again, the building of the church was again given over to the archive. In the premises of the monastery housed various Soviet institutions: tollbooth, pawnshop, an armory, a reading room, and others. In 1998 the church was returned to its rightful owners, and the first - the Franciscans.

The interior of the temple there are two chapels: Chapel of St. Laurin and the Chapel of St. John. A large altar is decorated with six columns. They are made of stone, which imitates marble. Above the altar stands stucco depicting St. Anthony. The monastery houses a rare collection of ancient books. The appearance of the church is solid and severe. The facade is as if from a single block of gray-white, stone color.

The decoration of the facade are five arched windows of different shapes and sizes, arranged asymmetrically at all three tiers of the church. In contrast to the facade, which has preserved the original appearance of the 18th century, the side walls of the church re-plastered, painted in bright colors and looks quite fresh red arch under the roof of the third level, located throughout the length of the elongated rectangular design.