Lithuanian Parish Founded in Queens, 1908

Today marks the day in 1908 that the First Mass was celebrated by Father Nicodemus Petjus at Transfiguration Church in the Maspeth section of Queens. The parish was founded as Queens’ first (and only) Lithuanian Catholic parish. By the turn of the century Lithuanians were moving into western Queens in large numbers, and they wanted a parish to meet their needs. (Brooklyn already had three Lithuanian parishes: St. Mary of the Angels and Annunciation, both in Williamsburg, and St. George in Fort Greene.) Today the parish still has Masses in Lithuanian. The present church building goes back to 1962. Above the doors is a phrase in Lithuanian, Mano Namai Maldos Namai (“My house is a house of prayer.”) The churchyard has a replic of a Lithuanian roadside shrine. Transfiguration’s second pastor Father Anthony Milukas (1914-1933) was a nationally recognized leader of the Lithuanian community. A prolific author and editor, he played a leading role in persuading President Woodrow Wilson to proclaim November 1st as Lithuanian Day in 1916.