Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius M.I.C. |
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| Bishop Emeritus of Vilnius | |
Photograph.
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| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Vilnius |
| See | Vilnius |
| Appointed | 23 October 1918 |
| Enthroned | 8 December 1918 |
| Reign ended | 1 September 1925 |
| Predecessor | Eduard Baron von der Ropp |
| Successor | Jan Feliks Cieplak |
| Other posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 November 1898 |
| Consecration | 1 December 1918 by Pranciškus Karevičius |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius |
| Born | 13 April 1871 Lūginė, Marijampolė, Lithuania |
| Died | 27 January 1927 (aged 55) Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Motto | Overcome evil with good |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 27 January |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 28 June 1987 Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Attributes | Episcopal attire |
| Patronage |
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Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (born April 13, 1871 – died January 27, 1927) was an important leader in the Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Vilnius from 1918 to 1925. He also started two religious groups: the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Jurgis Matulaitis was the leader, or Superior-General, of the Marian Fathers from 1911 until he passed away. He worked secretly to bring the Marian Fathers back to life after the Russian government had tried to stop all religious groups. He even gave up his teaching job to focus on this important secret work. He was known as a great teacher and spiritual guide. He helped set up new branches of the Marian Fathers in places like Switzerland and the United States, far from the Russian authorities.
His journey to becoming a saint began in the 1950s. In 1982, he was given the title of Venerable. Later, Pope John Paul II declared him "Blessed" on June 28, 1987, in Saint Peter's Basilica. The Pope called him a "man of God's heart."
Contents
Early Life and Challenges
Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius was born on April 13, 1871. He was the youngest of eight children in a family of poor farmers. He was baptized at the local church in Marijampolė, which was run by the Marian Order. He learned about his faith from Father Jurgis Cešnas at that church.
Sadly, Jurgis became an orphan when his father died in 1874 and his mother in 1881. His mother had taught him their native language, but he learned Russian in school because that was the language used for teaching. His older brother, John, and older sister, Emilia, took care of him after their parents died.
In 1904, Jurgis became ill. His right arm and leg became weak, which stopped him from working on the farm or attending classes. For a while, he had to use crutches to walk. Later, doctors found out he had tuberculosis of the bone, an illness he lived with for the rest of his life. Despite his illness, he loved to spend time alone, which helped him become very smart.
Education and Spiritual Path
Jurgis's uncle, a priest from Warsaw, noticed how bright he was. His uncle offered to pay for Jurgis's high school education from 1879 to 1886. This prepared him to start his studies to become a priest in 1891. He continued his studies in Warsaw in 1893.
When the government closed his school, he moved to the Saint Petersburg theological school. There, he continued his studies and became a spiritual student of Honorat Kozminski. Jurgis wrote a special paper about the beliefs of the Russian Orthodox Church. This made his teachers think he would be good at helping different Christian groups understand each other. He also became very good at Latin and learned Polish, French, and German.
Jurgis Matulaitis became a priest on November 20, 1898. Because he was so good at his studies, his bishop sent him to the Fribourg college in Switzerland. There, he worked on getting his doctorate degree. Fribourg was a safe place where students could talk freely about the difficult situation in their home country, Lithuania, which was under Russian rule.
Jurgis and other Lithuanian students often talked about how to bring back their culture and faith. He became convinced that religious orders were the best way to do this. So, he went back home to Marijampolė to talk to one of the last members of the Marian Order. This order had been stopped by the government. They discussed how to secretly bring the order back to life. After trips to Rome and Marijampolė, the plan was approved by the order's leader, Vincent Senkus.
Reviving the Marian Order
After finishing his doctorate in Switzerland, Jurgis returned to teach Latin and canon law to students preparing to become priests in Kielce. In 1907, he moved to lead a new department for social studies. Later, he became the vice-rector of the Saint Petersburg spiritual college, where he taught dogmatics.
During this time, the Marian Order was secretly being revived. Pope Pius X approved new rules for the group. This allowed Jurgis to secretly take his vows and become a member of the order in 1909. When the last Marian leader before the order was stopped, Father Senkus, passed away, a meeting was held on July 14, 1911. Jurgis Matulaitis was chosen as the new Superior-General of the order. At that time, the order only had him and two other priests, though some students were getting ready to join.
Jurgis was a respected teacher, but his secret work with the Marians put both the order and the school at risk. So, Jurgis decided to leave his teaching job to fully work on reviving the order.
Leadership and New Foundations
Jurgis began to get back the old properties of the Marian Order. He also set up new religious houses and training centers for new members in Poland and Switzerland. He even opened a house in Chicago in the United States in 1913.
Just as the Marian Order was growing, Jurgis heard rumors that he might be asked to become a bishop. He accepted the request from Pope Benedict XV to serve as the Bishop of Vilnius on October 23, 1918.
Just before becoming a bishop, Jurgis had founded the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception on October 15, 1918. Later, in 1924, he started another group called the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist in Belarus. He officially became a bishop on December 8, 1918, and took charge of his new diocese.
However, his diocese was in an area with a lot of conflict. Different groups often took control of the region, which was very tiring for the bishop. In 1925, he asked to be released from his duties as bishop, and Pope Pius XI agreed. But the Pope quickly gave him the higher rank of archbishop. He then asked Jurgis to help work out an agreement between the Pope and Lithuania. He also asked him to help make the new country's dioceses official.
In June 1926, Jurgis traveled to the United States for the second time. There, he took part in a big church event called the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. He returned to Lithuania and finished the talks with the Lithuanian government.
In Kaunas, which was under a special night rule called a curfew, he became very sick with appendicitis. He was taken to a clinic for an operation. Sadly, he died during the operation when his appendix burst. His body was later moved on October 24, 1934, to his hometown. He was buried in a small chapel under an altar in the church of Saint Michael the Archangel.
Path to Beatification
The process to declare Jurgis Matulaitis "Blessed" began in both Kaunas and Rome. An early investigation took place from 1953 to 1956. His spiritual writings were checked and approved in 1959.
The official start of his cause for sainthood happened on February 9, 1967, under Pope Paul VI. This gave Jurgis Matulaitis the title of Servant of God. More research was done from 1971 to 1972. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome confirmed all the information on March 7, 1975. Church officials and experts approved his cause in 1981 and 1982.
Pope John Paul II then confirmed that Jurgis Matulaitis had lived a life of great goodness and faith. On May 11, 1982, the Pope named him Venerable.
For Jurgis Matulaitis to be declared "Blessed," a miracle had to be confirmed. One such case, a healing, was investigated. Doctors approved it on January 15, 1986. Theologians and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints also approved it later that year. Finally, Pope John Paul II gave his full approval on June 30, 1986.
Pope John Paul II officially declared Jurgis Matulaitis "Blessed" on June 28, 1987, in Saint Peter's Basilica.
The person currently working on his cause for sainthood is Andrzej Pakuła. At the time of his beatification, about 1000 claims of miracles were said to have happened because of his prayers.
