All people entering or leaving Kretinga town are welcomed and seen off by a luminous cross which has no analogues in Lithuania. The cross in one of the busiest crossroads of the town can been seen from a great distance; the height of the moment is 12 metres and it brightly shines at night. The Franciscan monks of Kretinga commemorated the 400th anniversary by this modern and unique cross; the Franciscan monks started their activities in Kretinga four centuries ago. Exactly so many years ago, i.e. in 1617, the current church was built in Kretinga, a monastery was built several years before. Thus, the founder of the ensemble J. K. Chodkevičius not only established the image of Kretinga as a town but also started the Franciscan traditions lasting already for several hundreds. Kretinga is known as the small Vatican of Lithuania namely due to Franciscans and the anniversary cross sort of establishes the title.