Some Lithuanian historians – J. Yčas and B. Kviklys – claim that the Kretingalė community was established during the Reformation period, around 1550. Other German researchers of Church history – A. Harnoch, H. Kurschat and J. Zembrzycki – date its origin to the middle of the 17th century.
The construction started in 1652, and it was not a church then but only a wooden chapel. At that time, the parish of Kretingalė was officially legalised. As many as 72 villages were assigned to it; among them were the villages of Karklininkai, Paupuliai, Šimkai, Pakamoriai, Vytaučiai, Medikiai and others that have retained their names to this day.
Over the course of 80 years, the wooden chapel of Kretingalė completely deteriorated, so it was demolished in 1741, and a 23.5-metre-long and 11.5-metre-wide church with a wooden tower was built out of fieldstones. As later calculated by its careful craftsmen, the cost of the church totalled 1,066 thalers, 26 groschens and 9 pfennigs. Fifty years later, in 1792, the wooden tower had to be repaired, but it was then tilted by strong seaside winds in 1801 and ultimately had to be demolished. The current tower was erected in 1875. However, these were not the only disasters: the Russians, who came during the Seven Years' War, destroyed the church and did not leave anything they could carry, even one of the two bells. Fortunately, when peace was established, the bell was somehow found and brought back to Kretingalė in 1788.
Literary sources have preserved quite a few details of the lives of the priests who served in this parish, showing that their way of living was not different from the lives of many other clergymen of Lithuania Minor.
The community of Kretingalė took great care of its prayer house. The interior of the church was renovated and decorated frequently. In the 19th century it had an altar-pulpit designed between two graceful Corinthian columns, above which there was a victory flag decorated with a lamb of God and two urns decorated with rococo style ornaments. Silver-plated candlesticks with elements of Renaissance decoration stood on the altar table. The sacral vessels were also unusual – gilded and silver liturgical chalices and two trays for hosting. The baptistery of carved wood was probably the work of handy local craftsmen. The interior of the church was decorated with two brass chandeliers (one of them had a mark indicating the date: 1784) and pictures of apostles painted by an artist. The organ, bought in 1895 for 3,000 marks, was richly decorated with rococo ornaments and figurines, and the whole composition was crowned by the silhouette of an eagle.
Currently, the Kretingalė community unites 70 people, with priest Saulius Varanavičius leading the Mass.
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