Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz His Life and Writings
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Full cover.qxp_Layout 1 3/22/18 10:24 AM Page 1 b l e s s his work and dedication brought back to e life the congregation of Marian fathers d a r c h b i s Meet Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz (1871- h 1927), a pastor of the workers and the intelligentsia, educator and o p teacher of priests, founder of new female religious communities, g protector of abandoned children, bishop of Vilnius, and the Pope’s e representative in Lithuania. o r g Archbishop George tbh elongs to a group of people who initiated the e process of renewing the religious life in Poland and Lithuania in the M early decades of the 20 century. a t Breaking away from the overstated conservatism, he proclaimed u l social teachings of the Church, the idea of the secular apostolate, basic a i principles of ecumenism, respect for the language and culture of every t i nation, and great dignity of every person. s - M His spiritual profile can be concisely described as a man enamored a of the Church. t u l The authenticity of Archbishop George’s position was confirmed in e 1987 by St. John Paul II, who placed him among the Blesseds of the w i Church and gave him to the faithful as a model to follow. c z In this volume the Marian Fathers share the life and legacy of their Renovator, whose life-long motto was “For the glory of GInotdro adnudc ttihone salvation of souls,” while his guiding principle was “Vince malum in bono” (Conquer evil with good). From More information about Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz is available at M a www.matulaitis-matulewicz.org r i lessed rchbishop a b a M ARIAN n H E R I T A G E h eorge atulaitis atulewicz e g M -M STOCKBRIDGE, MA, USA r i 20 18 t a his life and writings g e Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 2 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 1 Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz His Life and Writings Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 2 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 4:11 PM Page 3 Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz His Life and Writings Selection of texts by Andrew R. Mączyński, MIC M ARIAN H E R I T A G E STOCKBRIDGE, MA, USA 20 19 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 4 Copyright © 2018 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of Rozmiłowany w Kościele, the B.V.M. All rights reserved. For Christ and the Church – Short biography and excerpts from letters The present publication is based on the following books: of Blessed George Matulaitis-Matulewicz, Renovator of the Congrega- T. Górski, MIC, Z. Proczek, MIC, Centrum For- tion of Marian Fathers, macji Maryjnej “Salvatoris Mater”, Licheń 2017; Journal, Marian Press, Stockbridge, MA, 2012; Marina Batiuk George Matulaitis-Matulewicz, Stockbridge, MA, 2003 Translated from Polish: John Luth, MIC Gerald Ornowski, MIC Proofreading and editing: Andrew R. Mączyński, MIC Cover design: Marina Batiuk Cover: Layout and page design: A frozen frame from the short movie footage showing Blessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz’s visit to one of the Lithuanian communities in the U.S. during his trip in 1926. Imprimi potest Very Rev. Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC ISBN: 978-1-59614-423-1 Superior of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province of the Congregation of Marian Fathers Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA January 27, 2018 Second revised edition. Printed in Poland Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 5 TABLe of ConTenTs Introduction Toward the Ideals of Priesthood ............................................................................................ 7 On the Threshold of His Life...................................................... 11 At the Marijampole Junior High School................................ 12 VariousAt the forms Beginning of His of HisPastoral Life at service the Seminary...................... 13 In Studies in Warsaw and St. Petersburg.............................. 15 In Fribourg, Switzerland.............................................................. 17 Professor at the Seminary in Kielce........................................ 23 RenovatorMinister of to the Youth............................................................................ Congregation 25 of MarianSocial Activist.................................................................................... fathers 28 Professor at the Spiritual Academy in St. Petersburg.......... 34 General superior of the Marian fathers ............................................................................................ 43 Election to the Office of the General Superior.......................... 61 BishopIn Fribourg, of Vilnius Switzerland.............................................................. 62 At Bienly.............................................................................................. 70 In Marijampole................................................................................ 76 ApostolicAppointment.................................................................................... Visitator to Lithuania 83 Pastoral Ministry............................................................................ 86 spiritual Profile of Blessed George Departure from the Diocese...................................................... 90 Beatification of Archbishop George ................................................ 97 ........................................ 107 ...................................... 115 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 6 excerpts from Blessed George’s Journal Blessed Georges’s selected Letters Prayers .............................. 123 Photographs ........................................ 131 .................................................................................................... 163 ........................................................................................ 169 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 7 Introduction B lessed Archbishop George Matulaitis-Matulewicz belongs to ath group of people who initiated the process of renewing the religious life in Poland and Lithuania in the early decades of the 20 century. He was born to a Lithuanian family, but he dedi- cated the most important years of his apostolic life to serving the good of the Church in Poland, especially in Warsaw and Vil- nius. He was only 56 years of age, when he passed away in 1927. His relatively short life was extremely rich. He was a pastor of the workers and the intelligentsia, educator and teacher of priests, the founder of new religious communities, protector of abandoned children, the bishop of Vilnius, and the Pope’s rep- resentative in Lithuania. In his work, Blessed George skillfully combined his faithful adherence to the traditional teachings of the Church with proper understanding of progress. Breaking away from overstated conservatism, he proclaimed the social teachings of the Church, the idea of the secular apos- tolate, basic principles of ecumenism, respect for the language and culture of every nation, and the great dignity of every per- son. Defending these values, he bore great suffering and learned to accept defeat in a Christian manner. Thanks to his work and ideals, he entered permanently into the history of Polish and Lithuanian national culture. But it was his “style” with which he undertook all these works that demonstrated his greatness. His life-long motto was: “For the glory to God and the salvation of souls.” His spiritual profile can be concisely described as a man enamored of the Church. The authenticity of Archbishop George’s position was confirmed in 1987 by St. John Paul II, who placed him among the Blesseds of the Church and gave him to the faithful as a model to follow. Both Archbishop Matulaitis’s activities and spiritual life were very richly fulfilling. The goal of the present biography is not to describe his entire life and character, but merely to draw the Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 8 BLESSED GEORGE MATULAITIS-MATULEWICZ 8 readers’ attention to the most salient aspectsJournal of the outstanding character of this man. Along with excerpts from Blessed George’s correspondence, this book also includes passages from his from 1910 to 1914, which detail the author’s spiritual profile. Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 9 ToWARds THe IdeALs of PRIesTHood Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 10 Blessed George Life and Writings Corrected.qxp_Layout 1 8/27/19 3:54 PM Page 11 on the Threshold of His Life o n the River Šešupe near Marijampole, the largest city of the Suwalki region in Lithuania, there is a little village called Lugine. It was thereth that a boy was born on April 13, 1871, to the family of Andrew and Ursula Matulaitis. On his Baptism, that took place on April 20 , this boy received the names of George and Boleslaus. He was the eighth and last child of his pious and hard-working farming parents. The Sacrament of Baptism was administered by Fr. George Czesnas, pastor of the Marijampole parish and also the General Superior of the Marian Fathers. Father George had no inkling that the son of the Matulaitis’s family, whom he just bap- tized, would take care of his religious community 40 years later, by becoming its renovator and rescuing it from annihilation.