The history of Vilnius Cathedral, located in the castle area, dates back to the 14th century, when, even before the Baptism of Lithuania, there was a small temple on this site looked after by Franciscans. The following centuries brought the construction of a Gothic hall, which was transformed in modern times. The cathedral owes its present-day appearance to a promoter of classicism in the person of Bishop Ignacy Massalski, who was associated with the Commission of National Education and who was hanged in Warsaw during the Kościuszko Uprising.

Massalski initiated a number of investments in Vilnius, the most important of which was the reconstruction of the cathedral. The work was led from spring 1777 by Marcin Knackfus, who was associated with Stanisław August, but in 1782 at the latest he was replaced by Wawrzyniec Gucewicz, educated at the bishop's expense in Rome and Paris, where he came into contact with the work of the eminent architects Jacques-Germain Soufflot, Jean Baptiste Rondelet, Patt and Claude Nicolas Ledoux. While working on the most important temple of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gucevich also made study trips to Hamburg and Bremen.

When taking on the prestigious commission, the less than 29-year-old architect began by strongly criticising his predecessor and also his first architectural teacher, pointing out the conservatism of his design. He proposed an austere approach to the massing, clearing the interiors of centuries-old trappings (tombstones, epitaphs and altars). This had the effect of obliterating the architectural heritage of earlier eras and styles, leaving the early Baroque sanctuary of St Casimir's, which was too important to be transformed.

Above all, Gucevičius slightly lowered the height of the Gothic walls without changing the layout of the three naves, of which the central one is the widest. He fastened the new vaults with grottoes and decorated them with massive rosettes. Leaving the St Casimir's chapel situated next to the presbytery on the opposite side, he added a symmetrically situated sacristy. He also did not make any changes to the interior of Bishop Eustace Vollovich's chapel, which was built at around the same time as St Casimir's chapel. Instead, he rebuilt the others, tidying up their height and shape. On the west side, the architect also introduced two symmetrical chapels on a rectangular plan into which he inscribed an ellipse, covering them with domes invisible from the outside with lanterns illuminating the interior. The side elevations were linked by recessed porticoes, where later statues from the Jesuit St Casimir's Church, closed down after the November Uprising, were placed.

The main element of the cathedral became its six-column portico with a tympanum decorated by Tommaso Righi, an artist of Stanislaus Augustus, who was appointed by Bishop Massalski in 1784 to decorate the cathedral. The tympanum depicted the Noahic Sacrifice, a reminder of the eternal covenant with God and the sacrifice of the Eucharist. This idea was continued in the portico by three statues created in 1791-1792 by local artist Kazimierz Jelski (St Helen with cross, St Casimir, St Stanislaus - patron saints of the Lithuanian and Polish Church; the statues were destroyed in 1950 and reconstructed after 1989). The lower parts of the façade feature statues of the Evangelists and Moses and Abraham, illustrating the Old and New Testaments. The façade also shows reliefs of scenes about the lives of St Peter and St Paul by Tommaso Righi.

The interior of the cathedral is characterised by its austere elegance. It was furnished with just one altar - the main one with a painting of St Stanislaus (until 1801) by Franciszek Smuglewicz, another artist from the circle of King Stanislaus Augustus, who became an undisputed master painter in Vilnius. The same style was used for the pilasters' pulpit - with a low, geometric basket.