Since 1956, the Lithuanian Catholic Press Center has called the huge orange brick building at 4545 W. 63rd Street its home. But that is about to change. The Marian Fathers, who own the building and the plot of land surrounding it, have put it up for sale.
Also sitting on the attractive and expansive tract of land, which extends from Kilbourn to Kolmar and stretches another block south from 63rd Street, is a chapel and a monastery.
Since its opening 69 years ago, the Lithuanian Catholic Press Center has been the home of Draugas, the oldest continuously published Lithuanian newspaper anywhere in the world. Back then, it took an array of people to produce a newspaper and the priests living in the adjacent monastery worked on the paper without salary.
The Lithuanian Marian Fathers no longer live in the United States. The monastery has been vacant, used occasionally for retreats. Across the courtyard is the chapel. Daily Masses are no longer said here, but inside it holds some unique connections to the past.
Four large mosaics line the south wall. The first depicts St. Casimir, patron of Lithuania. The second is of the Blessed Virgin Mary, holding a book in one hand. Rimas Cernius, who recently guided visitors through the chapel, suggested we take a closer look at the smaller images set behind the Virgin in the mosaic.
“To the left we can see a priest sitting at what appears to be a lithograph machine,” pointed out Cernius. “And to the right, also in the background, is a priest sitting at a desk with pen in hand and books behind him.”
Mosaic number three portrays Pope Pius X, who had a notable influence on Lithuania, bringing the native language into their churches and supporting the Divine Mercy devotions, which were strongly associated with Vilnius, the nation’s capital.
And the fourth mosaic is St. Francis de Sales who is shown writing with a quill pen. In the Catholic Church St. Francis is the patron of journalists and writers.
Four stained-glass windows line the north wall, each making reference to different stages in the Blessed Mother’s life, each using a quote from the gospels of the four evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
“It is interesting to note,” said Art and Design Historian Victoria Matranga. “At the same time funds were being raised for these buildings, funds were also being raised for Nativity BVM Church, the Chicago Lithuanian Jesuit Center and Maria High School.”
“This First Wave, as they were called, of Lithuanians were working hard and buying raffle ticket after raffle ticket,” she joked.
The very first issue of Draugas, which translates to “Friend,” came out on July 12, 1909. So, it was quite fitting that on July 12, 2025, Draugas’ 116th birthday, an open house was held for this complex that housed the newspaper offices and more for almost 70 years. This gave friends an opportunity to take one final walk-through.
Hundreds took advantage of the invitation, roaming the halls, admiring the chapel, flipping through archives, perusing original printing blocks, picking up volumes of books originally printed by the Lithuanian Press and exchanging stories and memories.
For the last several years, our company, Southwest Regional Publishing, has been printing Draugas at our Palos Heights location. The newspaper with a 116-year history, is not ending its run. This summer, Draugas is moving to its new home in the Chicago Lithuanian Center at 56th and Claremont.
The fate of the complex at 4545 W. 63rd Street is unknown. It all depends on the new owners. The hope of those with a lifelong attachment to the buildings is that some of the connections to Lithuanian history can be preserved.
