Juozapas Skvireckas (18 September 1873 – 3 December 1959) was a Lithuanian archbishop of Kaunas (1926–1959).[1]
Skvireckas was born in Pašilaičiai[2] or near Pumpėnai.[3] He attended high school in Panevėžys and the seminary at Žemaičių Kalvarija,[3] and he was ordained in 1899.[2] During the First World War, he performed pastoral duties in Smolensk and Tula.[3] He was made a titular bishop in 1919, and in 1925 he became archbishop of Kaunas.[2]
From 1911 to 1937, he translated the Bible into Lithuanian; it was published in six volumes by the Society of Saint Casimir.[4] During the occupation of the Baltic States by the Nazis, Skvireckas and his assistant, Bishop Vincentas Brizgys, initially welcomed the Nazis.[5] Skvireckas provided chaplains for Lithuanian-manned Nazi auxiliary units.[6] Later, however, Skvireckas issued multiple protests to Nazi authorities regarding the conditions of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.[7] He also sent reports to the Vatican, and in 1942 he started receiving instructions from the papal office.[7] He intervened on behalf of the Jewish population,[3] and in 1942 it was reported he was wounded by the Nazis in an incident that left another priest dead[3]—however, it was in fact Archbishop Mečislovas Reinys that had been injured.[8] In 1944, Skvireckas, Brizgys and over 200 other Lithuanian clergymen left Kaunas with retreating German forces and went into exile.[6] He settled in Austria, where he died in Zams in 1959.[2][9] After his death, the post of (arch)bishop of Kaunas was vacant until 1989.
References
- ^ Catholic Hierarchy -Archbishop Juozapas Skvireckas
- ^ a b c d "Archbishop Skvireckas". The Tablet. Brooklyn, NY. December 26, 1959. p. 15. Retrieved October 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Bishop Skvireckas Wounded by Nazis". The Lithuanian American Week. Chicago, IL. April 17, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved October 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lithuanian Bible Archived 2011-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Yitzhak Arad, The Christian Churches and the Persecution of Jews in the Occupied Territories of the U.S.S.R, Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies
- ^ a b (in English) Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide... McFarland & Company. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b "A. Strielkus Church Institution during the Period of Nazi Occupation in Lithuania" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
- ^ "Latest Reports". The Lithuanian American Week. Chicago, IL. April 24, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Piotrowski, p. 350
Further reading
- "Arkivyskupas Juozas Skvireckas" by Arūnas Streikus, "Kauno Arkivyskupijos Naujienos", No. 3, winter of 1999
- Church Institution during the Period of Nazi Occupation in Lithuania Archived 2012-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
- Archbishop Skvireckas's diary, 1941 m. Birželio sukilimas (collection documents), ed. V. Brandišauskas, Vilnius, 2000
- Vilma Narkutė, The Confrontation Between the Lithuanian Catholic Church and the Soviet Regime, New Blackfriars, Volume 87 Issue 1011, pages 456–475, 2006
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