Saint Georges
Matulaitis, évêque
Évêque de Vilnius et
fondateur d'Ordres religieux : la Congrégation des Clercs de Marie-Immaculée,
les Sœurs de l'Immaculée-Conception et les Servantes de Jésus Eucharistie. Il
fut un évêque d'une grande activité pastorale à une époque difficile pour son
pays et son Église, entre la Pologne, la Russie et les nationalistes
lituaniens. Il se fit le promoteur de la justice sociale et du service des
pauvres, des travailleurs agricoles et des ouvriers. Il lance l'association
catholique des travailleurs et fonde une revue pour promouvoir l'enseignement
social de l'Eglise. Il mourut en 1927.
Saint Georges Matulaitis
Évêque de Vilna (+ 1927)
Évêque de Vilnius et
fondateur d'Ordres religieux: la Congrégation des Clercs de Marie-Immaculée,
les Sœurs de l'Immaculée-Conception et les Servantes de Jésus Eucharistie. Il
fut un évêque d'une grande activité pastorale à une époque difficile pour son
pays et son Église, entre la Pologne, la Russie et les nationalistes
lituaniens. Il se fit le promoteur de la justice sociale et du service des
pauvres, des travailleurs agricoles et des ouvriers. Il lance l'association
catholique des travailleurs et fonde une revue pour promouvoir l'enseignement
social de l'Église. Il fut béatifié en 1987.
À Kauna en Lituanie, l’an
1927, le bienheureux Georges Matulaitis, évêque de Vilna et ensuite délégué
apostolique en Lituanie, qui fonda la Congrégation des Clercs de Marie et celle
des Pauvres Sœurs de l’Immaculée Conception de la Vierge Marie.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/5381/Saint-Georges-Matulaitis.html
Beato Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius
Bienheureux Georges
MATULAITIS (MATULEWICZ)
Nom: MATULAITIS
(MATULEWICZ)
Prénom: Georges (Jurgis)
Pays: Lituanie - Pologne
Naissance:
13.04.1871 à Lugine (Lituanie, près de la frontière polonaise)
Mort: 27.01.1927 à Kaunas
(Lituanie)
Etat: Evêque - Fondateur
Note: Prêtre en 1898. Professeur au grand séminaire de Kielce, à Varsovieet à Piétrobourg. Rénove les Marianites (Clercs réguliers de l'Immaculée-Conception). Fonde en 1918 les Sœurs des pauvres de l'I.C., puis en 1923 les Servantes de Jésus dans l'eucharistie. Evêque de Vilnius (Wilna) en 1918 jusqu'en 1925. Pie XI le nomme visiteur apostolique pour la Lituanie et prépare le concordat entre le S.Siège et la Lituanie.
En 1891 il a polonisé son nom en MATULEWICZ.
Béatifié à l'occasion du 600e anniversaire de la christianisation de la Lituanie.
Béatification:
28.06.1987 à Rome par Jean Paul II
Canonisation:
Fête: 27 janvier
Réf. dans l’Osservatore
Romano: 1987 n.27 p.1-2
Réf. dans la Documentation
Catholique: 1987 p.788
Notice brève
Georges Matulaitis naît
en Lituanie en 1871. Ordonné prêtre en 1898, il est professeur au séminaire
polonais de Kielce. En ce temps où la région connaît beaucoup de pauvreté, il
approfondit la question sociale. Il s’intéresse aussi à la vie religieuse,
redonnant vie à la Congrégation des Marianites dans laquelle il devient
religieux, et fondant les Sœurs des pauvres de l’Immaculée qui deviendront le
groupement de religieuses le plus important en Lituanie. Nommé évêque
auxiliaire de Vilna en 1918, il doit faire face aux nombreuses factions
antagonistes, notamment Lituaniens et Polonais. Homme de paix, il pourra
dire : « Je suis né en Lituanie…Presque toute ma vie, j’ai travaillé
en Pologne, et je l’ai fait avec loyauté et de toute ma force. »
Effectivement, il va jusqu‘à l’épuisement. Il donne sa démission en 1925 ;
mais Pie XI qui apprécie ‘‘cet homme vraiment saint’’ le nomme immédiatement
archevêque et Visiteur apostolique en Lituanie. Il rétablit de nouveau la paix
entre Polonais et Lituaniens et prépare un Concordat entre la Lituanie et le
Saint-Siège. Il meurt brusquement à 55 ans en 1927. Le Concordat sera signé peu
après.
Notice développée
Jurgis (Georges)
Matulaitis naît en 1871 en Lituanie à Lugine, tout près de la frontière
polonaise. À Marijanpole, sa paroisse, existe un couvent de Clercs marianites
et c’est l’un des religieux qui le baptise. Jurgis est le dernier d’une famille
de 8 enfants, dont les parents sont de petits cultivateurs. (Plus tard, dans
ses études sociales, il prendra volontiers l’exemple de ces cultivateurs qui
aspirent à un peu plus de terrain.) À l’époque où il vit, la Lituanie, annexée
par la Russie, sent peser sur elle le pouvoir tsariste. Pas de liberté, ni
politique, ni culturelle (le russe est obligatoire à l’école), ni religieuse
(les catholiques lituaniens sont oppressés par les Russes orthodoxes). Il
reçoit une bonne éducation en famille, mais à 10 ans, il perd ses deux parents.
(Cela le rendra sensible plus tard à la condition des orphelins, dont il
s’occupera personnellement.) À la même époque, il contracte une tuberculose
osseuse à la jambe, qui sera diagnostiquée plus tard, et dont il souffrira
toute sa vie, ce qui l’aidera à nourrir de la compassion pour les malades.
L’enfant doit marcher avec des béquilles. Plus moyen d’aller à l’école ;
alors il aide comme il peut à la ferme. Ce faisant, il garde au cœur le secret
désir d’entrer au séminaire. Grâce à un de ses parents, professeur à Kielce en
Pologne, il peut réaliser son projet et entre en 1891 au séminaire de Kielce.
Il change son nom de Matulais en celui plus polonais de Matulevicz. Doué d’une
intelligence supérieure, il apprend aussi, en plus du lituanien et du russe, le
français, le polonais, l’allemand, le latin. Il va à Piétrobourg continuer
ses études théologiques et il est ordonné prêtre le 20 novembre 1898. Puis il
fait un doctorat à Fribourg, en Suisse (1902). Sa thèse, qui dénote ses
préoccupations œcuméniques, porte sur la théologie orthodoxe russe.
D’abord vicaire en
paroisse, il est ensuite professeur au Grand Séminaire de Kielce. Tombé malade,
il se rétablit grâce à l’aide d’une bienfaitrice. Il y voit l’intervention de
la Providence et désormais, il comprend, et explique aux autres, que la maladie
peut être l’occasion d’exercer un apostolat encore plus actif : Jésus
n’a-t-il pas manifesté son activité suprême dans l’œuvre de la rédemption
lorsqu’il était immobilisé sur la croix ? Très attentif aux pauvres, il
étudie la doctrine sociale de ‘Rerum novarum’, de Léon XIII (1891). Il a pu
observer personnellement la condition épouvantable des ouvriers, notamment en
Russie. Avec perspicacité, il ne se borne pas à décrire la situation telle
qu’elle apparaît, mais il en cherche les causes, seule façon de leur apporter
des remèdes adéquats. Par exemple, lorsque certains attribuent tous les maux au
Socialisme (marxiste), il répond que ce sont plutôt les maux sociaux qui ont
permis la naissance du socialisme. Ce professeur ne néglige pas le ministère
des âmes (direction spirituelle et confessions) et c’est un bon prédicateur.
Dans son ardeur, il songe à évangéliser au-delà des frontières, jusque dans les
steppes de Sibérie. C’est aussi un zélé promoteur de la vie religieuse :
Il voudrait redonner vie aux Marianites dont la Congrégation est presque
éteinte, condamnée par le régime tsariste. Au couvent de Marijanpole, par
exemple, la paroisse de son enfance, il ne reste plus qu’un seul Père. Alors,
avec lui, il se rend à Rome en 1909 pour demander l’autorisation de relancer la
Congrégation en la rénovant. Cela lui étant accordé, il s’applique à réformer
les Constitutions pour les adapter aux nécessités des temps nouveaux. Lui-même
devient religieux marianite. Ayant été dispensé du noviciat, il fait profession
à 38 ans le 14 juillet 1911. Puis, il est nommé Supérieur général. Il revient à
Saint-Pétersbourg où il reconstitue un noviciat marianite dans la
clandestinité. Ensuite, pour être plus libre, il transfère ce noviciat à
Fribourg. Il fait un voyage à Chicago où les émigrés lituaniens le reçoivent
triomphalement et il y fait une fondation marianite avec noviciat (1913). Il en
fait une autre avec noviciat en Pologne, dans la banlieue de Varsovie. Après la
guerre de 14-18, la Russie affaiblie étant absorbée par ses problèmes internes,
la pression russe se relâche et la Lituanie connaît provisoirement une relative
indépendance. Le Père réalise alors son ancien désir et redonne vie au couvent
de Marijanpole, avec noviciat (1918). Puis, il fonde les ‘‘Sœurs de l’Immaculée
conception’’, connues par les gens sous le nom de ‘sœurs des pauvres’. En
Biélorussie, il fonde les ‘‘Servantes de Jésus dans la Sainte Eucharistie’’.
Malgré ses réticences, le
pape Benoît XV le nomme évêque de Vilnius le 23 octobre 1918. Consacré à Kaunas
le 1er décembre 1918, il est installé à Vilnius le 8 du même mois. Sa
devise est tirée de saint Paul, son saint préféré: ‘‘triompher du mal par le
bien’’ (Rm 12, 21). Durant son temps d’épiscopat, la Lituanie connaît une
période politique très agitée ; de 1918 à 1922, elle voit se succéder 8
régimes politiques différents et opposés. L’évêque s’efforce de ramener la
paix. Personnellement, il ne veut prendre parti pour aucun ; son seul et
ardent désir est le salut des âmes, son seul amour, l’Église, l’Immaculée, le
Saint-Père. Il manifeste un grand courage pour défendre les droits de l’Église
et la liberté des citoyens, ce qui lui attire de nombreuses inimitiés de la
part des différentes factions, mais il force l’admiration générale par ses
vertus extraordinaires. Toute son action si intense, en tant de domaines, ne
peut s’expliquer que par une profonde et constante union à Dieu. Après huit
années d’épiscopat, épuisé, il donne sa démission. Elle est acceptée, mais,
immédiatement, son ancien ami, Pie XI, le nomme Visiteur apostolique de
Lituanie, avec le titre d’archevêque d’Adulia et il lui confie notamment une
mission importante : l’élaboration d’un concordat entre la Lituanie et le
Saint-Siège. Mgr Matulevicz fait tout le travail de base, mais il meurt subitement
à Kaunas, le 27 janvier 1927, âgé de 55 ans. Le Concordat est signé peu après,
le 17 septembre de la même année.
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/hagiographie/fiches/f0287.htm
Blessed Jurgis
Matulaitis-Matulewicz
Also
known as
George Matulaitis
Jerzy Matulevicz
Jorge Matulaitis
Jurgis Matulewicz
Jurgis
Matulaitis-Matulevicius
Profile
Born to a poor farm family,
the youngest of eight children at
a time when Lithuania was
under the control of Tsarist Russia. Orphaned at
age ten. Developed tuberculosis of
the bone in his leg,
in his early teens; he suffered with it the rest of his life. Entered the seminary in Poland in 1891, studied in
the major seminary in Warsaw, studied theology in
Saint Petersburg, Russia,
earned his doctorate of theology at
the University of
Fribourg, Switzerland.
Spiritual student of Blessed Honorat
Kozminski. Ordained on 20
November 1898 in
the Congregation of Marian Fathers. Taught Latin
and canon
law in the seminary in
the diocese of Kielce, Poland.
Worked for the betterment of the working poor.
Head of the Sociology section of Saint Petersburg Academy in 1907. Taught dogmatic theology.
Vice-rector of the Academy. Noted teacher, preacher,
spiritual director, and confessor.
Reformed the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in 1910,
changing their constitution, habit,
vows, and way of life, resigning his position at the Academy to
work for the Marians revitalization; superior general of the Congregation on 14
July 1911.
Founded the Congregation of Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in 1918.
Founded the Sisters Servants of the Jesus in the Eucharist in Belarus.
Reluctant bishop of Vilnius, Lithuania on 23
October 1918.
The city was divided into warring camps loyal to the various forces of the
First World War, and George fought constantly to defend the right of the Church and
the freedom of the citizens. Founded the Handmaids of Jesus in the
Eucharist in 1919.
He retired from his see on 14
July 1925;
on 1
September 1925 he
was made titular archbishop and
Apostolic Visitator to Lithuania.
Dispatched by the Vatican to complete a concordant with the Lithuanian government
to restore diplomatic relations; he succeded just before his death.
Born
13
April 1871 at
Lugine, Lithuania
27
January 1927 of appendicitis at
Kaunas, Lithuania
11
May 1982 by Pope John
Paul II (decree of heroic
virtues)
28
June 1987 by Pope John
Paul II
Additional
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Cusumano
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Readings
After the example of
Christ I embrace all of you. I am ready to die for the truth. I wish to be to
all of you a real Father, Shepherd, Imitator of Christ. My field of labor is
Christ’s kingdom the Church, my party is Christ. – Blessed George’s
first address as bishop of
Vilnius, Lithuania
Overcome evil with
good. – Blessed George’s
personal motto; taken from Saint Paul
the Apostle; inscribed on George’s coat of arms
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulewicz“. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 August 2023. Web. 14 August 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jurgis-matulaitis-matulewicz/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jurgis-matulaitis-matulewicz/
.jpg)
Beato Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius
Naczelnik
Państwa Józef Piłsudski w towarzystwie członków zagranicznych misji wojskowych
w Polsce i oficerów Wojska Polskiego. W I rzędzie widoczni m.in.: Jan Piłsudski
(1. z lewej), biskup wileński Jerzy Matulewicz (4. z lewej), Józef Piłsudski
(5. z lewej) i Adrian Carton de Wiart (4. z prawej) . W II rzędzie stoi m.in.
Walery Sławek (3. z lewej). 1919, National Digital Archives, Instytut
Józefa Piłsudskiego
Blessed George
Matulaitis-Matulewicz (1871-1927)
Renovator of The Marians
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
As the twentieth century
draws to a close, we cannot help but reflect on the people and events that it
has brought us. Ours has been a violent, turbulent century with more than its
share of sorrow and suffering. But it has also had its share of goodness —
especially the radiant goodness in lives like that of Maximilian Kolbe, Edith
Stein, Brother Andre, Solanus Casey, Mother Teresa, Padre Pio and many others.
Some of these extraordinary people have already been recognized by the Church
for their heroic Christian love and others will probably be recognized in
time.
On
June 28, 1987, Archbishop George Matulaitis was beatified by Pope
John Paul II. The Pope spoke of him as a special gift for the Church and
for the Lithuanian nation. Blessed George's life and words speak to us today.
His life was full of suffering, hardship and trials of all kinds, yet it was
abundantly blessed by God and bore fruit during his own lifetime and after his
death. His vision of God working in and through the human person revives our
hope in our power for good. In his Journal he expressed the conviction that
every human being has great power at his disposal:
The human mind is the
source of all kinds of ideas that eventually reach the masses and spread
throughout the world. The human will is a power that either draws people to
itself, raises them up, sways and moves them toward a positive goal or, on the other
hand, it can drag them down, bringing humanity, either happiness or misery. The
human heart, burning with emotion, can be a powerful source of energy that
warms, enkindles, ignites others — like steam or electricity — inspiring people
to do good or it can be an evil and destructive force (Journal:
Nov. 17, 1910).
The twentieth century has
amply illustrated the awesome human potential for both good and evil. Blessed
George Matulaitis' personal motto, taken from the words of St. Paul, his
favorite saint, was: "Overcome evil with good." He remained faithful
to this ideal despite great personal cost. And, in the end, both friend and foe
had to admit that he had overcome. In his obituary a priest friend
expressed what many had experienced: Matulaitis "had a smile for
everyone—or his friends and supporters and for his enemies as well."
Shortly after his
beatification, great things began to happen in Lithuania, his native land,
under Soviet rule since 1940. In October of 1988 the Soviet
government allowed the Lithuanians to display their own flag and use their own
language. The cathedral in Vilnius, the capital city, has been returned to the
faithful. This, the most important church in the country was confiscated during
the Stalin era and turned into a picture gallery. Here Blessed George was
installed as Bishop of Vilnius on December 8, 1918 — it was his
church in a special way. Lithuanian Catholics were allowed to celebrate
Christmas publicly for the first time in 1988. In 1989 Pope John
Paul II will make his first visit to Lithuania, a request denied him
in 1987 when he wanted to celebrate the 600th anniversary of
Christianity in Lithuania and beatify Archbishop Matulaitis in Vilnius.
Many healings and other
graces have been obtained through the intercession of Blessed George both in
Lithuania and elsewhere in the free world. During his lifetime he had special
compassion for the sick, since he himself suffered from an incurable illness
most of his life. The sorrows and sufferings he endured deepened his faith in
the loving Providence of God which never abandons us in our need. His favorite
prayer was: "I kiss the hand of Providence; I entrust myself completely to
your guidance — lead me, O Lord."
EARLY LIFE
George Matulaitis' life
spans two centuries—the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
— a period which molded our own era. He was born in 1871 in Lithuania, one
of the three Baltic states whose struggle for autonomy has recently caught the
attention of the world. At that time Lithuania was also part of the Russian
Empire — a dark age without religious, cultural or political freedom. Little
Jurgis (George) learned his native language at his mother's knee, but at school
he was taught in Russian.
He was a country boy and
life on his parents' farm was good. However, sorrow dimmed his childhood — he
lost both parents by the age of ten. His older sister Emily looked after him.
In later life his heart always went out to children and especially to orphans.
He would always stop to speak to a child.
At an early age he fell
ill with tuberculosis of the bone, although it was diagnosed only much later.
His illness interfered with his schooling and he had to drop out of high
school. Walking on crutches, he helped out with the farm work. It was only through
the kindness of an older cousin who was a teacher in Poland, that he was able
to fulfill his secret dream — to enter the seminary. He completed his seminary
studies in Poland and it was here that his last name was changed to Matulewicz.
As an exemplary student he was sent to continue his studies at the Theological
Academy in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad). Here he was ordained a priest
in 1898 and received his Master's degree in theology. Among the students
he was known as a quiet, friendly and pious young man with a formidable
intelligence. He was active in several student organizations and always willing
to help his friends with their studies. He went on to Switzerland where he
completed his doctorate in theology at the University of Fribourg in 1902.
He was especially interested in apologetics, that branch of theology concerned
with the defense of Catholic doctrine. His dissertation on Russian Orthodox
theology showed a bent for ecumenical dialogue. He had also become proficient
in languages — Polish, Russian, French and German. He was an expert Latinist as
well.
With such great
intellectual gifts and a heart burning with enthusiasm to work in the Lord's
vineyard, it seemed that this young priest would do great things. Already he
was filled with compassion for the persecuted Church in his own country and
throughout the lands ruled by Russia. He could see how the Catholic Church was
oppressed and hampered in every way: religious orders were expelled, closed
down, persecuted; the hierarchy was pressured to conform with government
demands and its control; the faithful were not allowed to worship in their own
language and were penalized for engaging in the most harmless religious
activities.
THE WAYS OF PROVIDENCE
Matulaitis' first
assignment was that of seminary professor in Poland. However, he was unable to
continue this work for long because of illness. He had received medical
treatment in Fribourg, but had a relapse and moved to Warsaw where he was
hospitalized in a small hospital on the outskirts of the city he lay in a
general ward because he had no money. The situation seemed hopeless, but it
turned out to be a time of grace and spiritual growth. He used his time for
prayer and reading. He did not complain about being bedridden, but wrote to his
spiritual director, Fr. Honoratus Kozminski, a Polish Capuchin: "I am
very content in the hospital. The nurses take good care of me and other people
are also kind. Perhaps the Lord God visits me with illness because I am happy
in this world — otherwise I would not know what affliction is."
Probably he would have
died if not for the kind offices of a high-born lady and member of a secret
religious community. She heard of his plight and took him back to her school
where he was given expert medical attention and good food until his health
improved. In this kindness Matulaitis recognized the finger of God. Later on he
would often say: "The important thing is that we love God, then all evil
will turn to good. It is true that we do not always know what form it will take.
But it will come just the same. We can be certain of that."
His own compassion for
the sick was based on real insight into their sense of frustration. He would
console them: “If you are seriously ill and bedridden, do not worry that you
cannot work. You already have something to do — to bear the pain and discomfort
of your illness patiently and peacefully… Suffering in the spirit of Christ is
very worthwhile. Our Savior never accomplished so much as when he appeared to
be doing nothing — on the cross.”
When he recovered
somewhat, he agreed to be chaplain at the girls’ school run by his
benefactress, Cecilia Zyberg-Plater. He taught religion and was often brought
to class supported by two people. Sometimes he would limp in on crutches. But
even after many years the students remembered this young priest — his radiant
personality and what he said to them, encouraging them to use their talents and
their education for the good of others.
From 1904
to 1907 Matulaitis himself became deeply involved in social action.
COMPASSION FOR THE POOR
Since his student days
Matulaitis had been interested in social reform and in practical methods of
improving the life of the working people according to the principles set down
by Pope Leo XIII. At the University of Fribourg he had studied the leading
Christian authors on social reform. In Russia and elsewhere he had seen the
appaling conditions in which urban workers had to live and work. Something had
to be done to help these people under Catholic auspices, otherwise they would
be drawn toward atheistic socialism and revolution.
Father George Matulaitis,
along with a like-minded colleague, a Polish priest, Fr. Marcel Godlewski,
organized a Catholic Workers' Association in Warsaw. Several thousand workers
joined and it proved to be very successful. Matulaitis cooperated with the
Christian Democrats who were also concerned with the welfare of the urban
workers. For a time he edited their paper, The Polish Worker.
In Poland the movement
attracted both positive and negative attention. It was considered to be very
modern and many noblemen and landowners disapproved. However, enough of the
clergy and laity were enthusiastic to keep Matulaitis busy giving talks and
conducting seminars on social questions. Both in Poland and in Lithuania he was
instrumental in organizing a series of lectures on social thought and social
reform. Matulaitis was one of the key speakers presenting the teaching of the
Church on property ownership and the rights of workers.
In the fall of 1907
Matulaitis was invited to teach sociology at the Theological Academy of
St. Petersburg. Not only the students, but also members of the faculty
attended his lectures. A number of his listeners later became social reformers
in their own countries.
Matulaitis' interests in
social questions and social reform were never merely theoretical. He was moved
by a deep compassion and real understanding of the plight of the worker. He
knew first hand what it meant to be poor, dependent upon others, humiliated by
a lack of the bare necessities. He knew too that pastoral ministry would not be
effective unless it was also concerned with improving the living conditions of
those who were being evangelized. Matulaitis appealed his fellow priests:
"As living conditions change and the spiritual and cultural level of the
people also changes, new problems and difficulties arise in the field of
pastoral ministry; new tasks confront us.
As life moves forward, it
presents new problems. We must look for new methods and solutions to deal with
them... As the life of the people flows on, so must the pastor be the living
water of the Gospel, always flowing onward to refresh his flock."
During the same period
that he was involved in social action, Matulaitis was also acting as spiritual
director and advisor for various underground religious communities for women
founded by Father Honoratus, his own mentor. Father George revised their
Constitutions, consulted with their superiors, gave conferences and helped
individuals through the confessional. Matulaitis began to realize how much the
Church needed new religious communities in order to survive oppression by
hostile governments and the crisis of faith brought on by new philosophies and
movements.
WORKING FOR SPIRITUAL
RENEWAL
In 1909 while
he was still professor at the Theological Academy, 38 years old and with a
promising career ahead of him, Matulaitis made a momentous decision. He decided
to become a religious, to follow more closely in the footsteps of Christ. Having
received permission from Rome, he made the three vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience in a private chapel in Warsaw. At the same time, his close friend and
fellow professor, Francis Būčys, was received into the novitiate. This was the
beginning of the revival of the Marian Congregation. Closed down by the Russian
government, it had only one surviving member. Matulaitis was convinced that God
was leading him to resurrect this dying community and infuse it with new
life.
The Marian Fathers were
well known to him — they worked in his parish church at Marijampole in
Lithuania. He had been baptized by one of their generals. Now he resolved to
revive and prepare them for an apostolate in the modern world. He gave up
lecturing on sociology and taught dogmatic theology instead. He began to
rewrite the Constitutions and at the same time directed his two novices. In the
fall of 1910 he began to keep a journal in which he recorded his thoughts,
inspirations and resolutions.
His heart burned with a
desire to expend himself for the kingdom of God — the Church. He and his fellow
religious must take the risk — go out among the people, reach out to all to
renew and strengthen their faith, then prepare them to evangelize in turn. With
the rise of modern philosophies and movements, he could see that people were
being influenced to abandon their faith. In his Journal he wrote: "Our
concern is with all humanity and with the needs of the universal Church. We
should be willing to hasten to any place where there is an opportunity to do
something for the greater glory of God... In a special way we must direct our
attention toward the vast territories of Russia and Siberia, where so many
souls have strayed from the fold because there is no one to guide them; toward
America with its noisy life-style where it is so easy for people to forget
their spiritual needs" (Journal: Jan. 25, 1911).
His idea was to build up
a modern, mobile religious community dedicated to the apostolate. He was
convinced that religious and laity must work together to bring the Gospel to
every home. A life of intense prayer and work was the best way to achieve this:
"Without continual prayer the soul wilts and withers; our energy burns
out, our spirit is dissipated and our work becomes amazingly sterile. On the other
hand, let us not forget that we worship and serve God not only when we pray,
but also when we work for His glory" (Journal:
Nov. 14, 1910).
In 1911 Matulaitis
was elected superior general of the Marians and remained in this position until
his death. He was also novice master since they were so few. That same summer
the novitiate was transferred to Fribourg, Switzerland, for St. Petersburg
proved to be too dangerous: the Russian secret police had been conducting raids
and searches for secret religious organizations. Under cover of the life of the
University of Fribourg, Matulaitis hoped that the novitiate would be safer and
grow more rapidly.
In 1913 he and two
young Lithuanian Marians travelled to the United States to start a mission in
Chicago. In 1915, unable to leave Poland because of the war, Matulaitis
gathered the Polish Marians together at a monastery outside Warsaw. This was
the beginning of the Polish province. During this period the Marians and
several sisters cared for a number of war orphans. Matulaitis himself would
often go into German-occupied Warsaw to beg for provisions for the children. He
would often return in the evening sitting on a wagonload of coal or potatoes.
A number of interesting
stories circulated in the area about the young priest and professor who was not
afraid of the Germans. Once he went to a German official to ask for cots for
the children.
"You are a priest,
you should trust in divine Providence. Why are you bothering me?!” barked the
German. "That is true," replied Matulaitis quietly "but
Providence often works through good people."
Shamefaced, the German
wrote out an order for the cots. However, the priest kept coming back. He was
cursed at for being an infernal nuisance. Matulaitis humbly listened to the
tirade, then said: "All that is for me, but what do you have for the
children?”
Serving the poor was a
priority in all the religious communities that Matulaitis founded. In the
spring of 1918 he went to Lithuania to restore the Marian monastery in Marijampole
and to start a novitiate. In the fall of that same year he founded a Lithuanian
community for women, the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, popularly known
as the Sisters of the Poor. Several years later he founded another religious
community for women in Belorussia, the Servants of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
All these communities are still active.
Matulaitis updated the
Constitutions of a number of religious communities according to the new Code of
Canon Law — about ten in all. He was often asked for help and advice in
spiritual matters and on concrete problems of how to adjust to the demands of
modern life. He not only prepared these religious communities for a more
effective apostolate during the postwar period, but also for an even greater
challenge in the future. With the Soviet regime came a new wave of religious
persecution and it was these communities that were able to adjust to the
situation, to hold out and to continue their apostolate in the persecuted
Church. They helped and encouraged the laity to remain firm in their faith and
were a great help to the clergy. The religious resistance movements that
developed in the east European countries gives evidence of the firm foundations
that had quietly been laid down earlier.
A GOOD SHEPHERD
Despite his own wishes to
remain a simple religious, in the fall of 1918 George Matulaitis was
appointed Bishop of Vilnius by Pope Benedict XV. He was consecrated in
Lithuania, at the cathedral in Kaunas on December 1 and the installation ceremonies
took place in the Vilnius cathedral on December 8. He was not well known
to the people of Vilnius and was very much aware of the difficulty of his
mission. In his inaugural sermon he presented himself to his flock humbly and
sincerely: "I stand before you a stranger and therefore, first of all, I
ask one thing of you — to regard me as the servant of Christ who has been given
you to show you the way to heaven and to guide you to eternal happiness. From
now on we shall live together as one big spiritual family of which I am to be
the father and head as we move forward along our wearisome spiritual
journey."
His vision of unity and
harmony, however, proved extremely difficult to realize in those turbulent
times. During his time as Bishop of Vilnius — 1918 to 1925 —
Matulaitis had to walk along a thorny and treacherous path. He had to contend
with six different civil governments — some of these were openly hostile to the
Church and to its hierarchy. Political and national conflicts often blinded
clergy and faithful alike to the demands of Christian charity. His large,
ethnically mixed diocese was seething with unrest: the people were fearful,
food was scarce and political passions ran high. Lithuanians, Belorussians and
Poles were all striving for independence after the long and unhappy period of
Russian rule since 1795.
Within two weeks of
assuming his duties, Bishop Matulaitis felt himself caught in a political
crosscurrent. "My own position is extremely difficult," he wrote;
"whatever one faction approved of, another opposed. It was impossible to
please them. The cauldron was boiling over. I kept to the teaching of Christ
and of the Church." (Journal: Dec. 16, 1918).
In spite of all this, he
received everyone who came to him and listened to their woes. He encouraged
them to use their native, tongue because, he assured them, "I do not
despise any nation or any language."
He wanted all of his
flock to live in peace and harmony and did his best to reconcile persons and
nations. He would not allow the Jews to be persecuted and when public furor
rose against them he would intercede for those who were arrested or plead that
food be distributed fairly to all.
The conflict between the
Poles and the Lithuanians over the city of Vilnius was especially acute at this
time. Bishop Matulaitis refused to take sides but urged both nations to
negotiate peacefully: "Perhaps, when each takes a good look at the other,
they will see that neither is the monster they had imagined," he noted
down in his Journal. However, his efforts were often disregarded and
misinterpreted. He experienced great sorrow and inner anguish because of the
way Christian people and nations were behaving toward each other: "My God,
my God what a terrible thing is the politics of our time! Morality is
completely excluded from the political arena. The same morality which governs
and guides relations between individuals should also govern the relations
between nations. Christ has not given us a double standard nor dual justice,
but only one. There can be no peace between nations until they begin to base
their relations with one another on the moral principles of Christ" (Journal:
May 3, 1919). Today his words have a prophetic ring.
Because of his refusal to
take sides or to promote the interests of one political party or nation against
another, Bishop Matulaitis was criticized, attacked and denigrated. Yet, he
remained gracious and cordial even to those who publicly vented their
antagonism or snubbed him personally. In some cases his goodness won them over.
One of these was Bishop Wladislaw Bandurski who came to Vilnius with General
Zeligowski's army which occupied the city in 1920. Bandurski was official
army chaplain and spokesman for Pilsudski and his supporters. At first he
refused even to pay Bishop Matulaitis the required formal visit. Persuaded to
do so by Chancellor Lucjan Chalecki, a fellow Pole, Bandurski came to pay his
respects and ended up staying till midnight, so charmed was he by Matulaitis'
cordiality. Later on, when different political winds were blowing and Bandurski
was in disfavor, his financial situation became difficult. Bishop Matulaitis
noticed that his cassock was worn and frayed. He secretly ordered a new one
made and delivered. Bandurski guessed who was responsible. He was deeply moved
and when Matulaitis was celebrating the silver jubilee of his ordination in
November of 1923, Bandurski agreed to give the sermon. In it, he warmly
praised Bishop Matulaitis for his truly Christian spirit, his love for the
Church and his fairness and regard for all entrusted to his care.
In the summer of 1925
Matulaitis' resignation from the diocese of Vilnius was accepted by Pope
Pius XI, his personal friend and colleague. Poland had signed its
Concordat with the Vatican and Vilnius was going to be made an archdiocese.
Matulaitis was well aware that he had to withdraw. He quietly left Vilnius and
went to Rome where he hoped to establish the Marian generalate and a house of
studies. However, the pope made him titular Archbishop of Adulia and appointed
him Apostolic Visitor to Lithuania.
Archbishop Matulaitis
returned to his native land and settled in the Marian monastery in Kaunas. His
first task was to prepare a project for the formation of an independent
ecclesiastical province for Lithuania. When the project was approved by Rome,
Lithuania was divided into five dioceses. Matulaitis officiated the
consecration of the five new bishops in 1926.
In June he sailed to the
United States to attend the International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. He
also visited 92 Lithuanian parishes and gave over 200 homilies and
speeches. Everywhere he was welcomed with great enthusiasm. The railway car in
which he was traveling was even painted violet in his honor! Back home he began
work on the Concordat between Lithuania and the Vatican. However, he did not
live to see its completion. He died after an appendix operation in Kaunas on
January 27, 1927 at the age of 56. Throngs of people came to
mourn him; all the church bells of Kaunas pealed a final farewell. Every
national group recognized the enormity of their loss: he had been a father to
all. Thousands attended the funeral. He was buried in the crypt of Kaunas
cathedral, but the remains were transferred to his own parish church in
Marijampole in 1934. On May 11, 1982, the Congregation for the
Saints issued a decree stating that during his lifetime Archbishop George
Matulewicz practiced virtues to a heroic degree. On June 28, 1987,
the Holy Father, John Paul II solemnly beatified him at St. Peter’s
Basilica in Rome. On the occasion of his beatification, a special repository
was made for the remains and an altar constructed. This has now become a
national shrine where Lithuanians and people from other countries come to pray.
A MAN OF PEACE
Blessed George Matulaitis
was a man of peace and also blessed with a special love for the Church.
He was able to be a
peacemaker between persons and nations because he had attained inner peace
which radiated to all who came in contact with him. This was both a gift and an
achievement that took many years to develop fully. In a letter that he wrote to
a friend in 1913, he spoke eloquently on peace. He was well aware that
"this world is not paradise, nor are people angels.” The model and source
of peace is Jesus himself: "How peaceful Our Lord always was. No matter
what people did to him, he never stopped loving and serving them... Christ
often greeted his apostles with the words 'Peace be with you'; he would often
give them peace — 'I give you my peace.' It seems that this peace is precious
indeed since Christ continually offered it to his apostles." But
maintaining this peace also requires something of us. "Make every effort,
my brother," he wrote in his letter, "to keep peace in your heart,
the true peace of Christ, which the world cannot give, which it does not even understand...
We must pray that God would give us more peace. Of course, we cannot change
other people, but we must learn to see and not to see, to hear and not to hear;
we must learn not to feel injuries and malice so deeply, nor to trouble
ourselves over it. You can achieve this peace by uniting yourself with the
Sacred Heart of Jesus and giving Him all the hurts in your heart." At the
end of his life it was evident that Blessed George lived in undisturbed peace.
The last resolution recorded in his Journal was: "To pray more for those
from whom I have experienced any kind of evil" (Journal:
August, 1925). His favorite Scripture quotation had always been: Non
in commotione Spiritus Dei — The Spirit of God cannot be felt in
turmoil.
Blessed George's love for
the Church was the great passion of his life — but it was a peaceful passion
that stretched his heart and broadened his vision. One of his biographers,
Msgr. Vincenzo Cusumano, said that he was a man in love with the
Church.
Even as a young priest,
Blessed George was already filled with great compassion for the persecuted
Church. In an article he wrote addressing his fellow priests and which was
published in the USA in 1903, he said: "The Church has never had to
suffer more, it seems, than in our own times. If we turn our eyes to our
country, we can see that things are much more difficult for us than before —
our beloved Church is weighed down by no small burdens."
His model and inspiration
in loving the Church was Jesus himself who gave all he had and even laid down
his life that the Church, the kingdom of God, might have life and continue to
grow. In 1911, overcome by a burning desire to follow Jesus devoting
himself completely to the building up of the kingdom of God, Blessed George
prayed:
If I may ask, Lord, let me
be but a kitchen rag in your Church, a rag used to wipe up messes and then
thrown away into some dark and dirty corner. I want to be used up and worn out
in the same way, so that your house would be a little cleaner and brighter. And
afterwards, let me be thrown away like a dirty, worn out
dishrag (Journal: Jan 13, 1911).
His prayer was heard. All
his natural and spiritual gifts were used by God for the growth of the Church
in his own country and in other lands. He wanted to be like a candle that burns
out on the altar — to be consumed by the fire of love and the heat of hard work
for the glory of God. Today, the light of his life shines out for us all to
see. We know that God is with us and with all who toil and suffer for His
kingdom. That kingdom has not, nor will ever be overcome by the powers of
darkness.
SOURCE : http://www.matulaitis-matulewicz.org/hislife.php
.jpg)
Beato Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius
Marszałek
Piłsudski i biskup wileński Jerzy Matulewicz na Rynku Kościuszki, w otoczeniu
uczestników uroczystości. 21 August 1921. National Digital Archives, Instytut
Józefa Piłsudskiego
Beato Giorgio Matulaitis
(o Matulewicz) Arcivescovo
Lugine (Lituania), 13
aprile 1871 - Kaunas, 27 gennaio 1927
Martirologio
Romano: A Kaunas in Lituania, beato Giorgio Matulewicz, vescovo di Vilnius
e poi Nunzio apostolico in Lituania, fondatore della Congregazione dei Chierici
Mariani e della Congregazione delle Suore Povere dell’Immacolata Concezione
della Beata Maria Vergine.
Il beato Giorgio
Matulaitis o Matulewicz fu un fine tessitore delle sorti della Chiesa nella
piccola Lituania, in un periodo storico dove la Lituania conobbe l’appartenenza
alla Polonia, alla Russia e anche l’indipendenza.
Giorgio Matulaitis nacque
nel villaggio lituano di Lugine il 13 aprile 1971, ultimo degli otto figli di
Andrea e Orsola Matulaitis.
A dieci anni era già
orfano di entrambi i genitori ed ebbe come tutore il fratello maggiore
Giovanni, il quale dopo gli studi elementari lo pose ai lavori di campagna. A
18 anni nel 1889 seguì il cognato Giovanni Matulewicz in Polonia, dove cambiò
il cognome da Matulaitis in Matulewicz.
Compì gli studi superiori
nel seminario di Kielce e poi in quello di Varsavia, perfezionandosi poi
all’Accademia Romana Cattolica di Pietroburgo, dove fu ordinato sacerdote il 20
novembre 1898.
Nel giugno 1899 divenne
Maestro in Teologia, a dicembre si iscrisse all’Università di Friburgo in
Svizzera, dove nel 1903 ottenne la laurea in Teologia, con una brillante tesi
sul tema “Doctrina Russorum de statu iustitiae originalis”, che fu poi
pubblicata a Cracovia.
Intraprese subito
l’insegnamento; dal 1902 al 1904 tenne la cattedra di Lettere latine e Diritto
Canonico nel Seminario di Kielce da poco riaperto e dal 1907 al 1909 quella di
Teologia Dommatica e Sociologia all’Accademia Ecclesiastica Cattolica di
Pietroburgo.
Nel 1904 si manifestò il
male della tubercolosi, che lo costrinse a farsi ricoverare all’Ospedale dei
Poveri di Varsavia, da dove fu poi trasferito presso le Ancelle del
Sacratissimo Cuore di Gesù che lo curarono; pieno di gratitudine per la loro
opera, nel 1907 ritoccò le Costituzioni della loro Congregazione.
In quegli anni fu
precursore dell’Azione Cattolica in Polonia, organizzando a Varsavia la prima
Associazione per giovani universitari denominata ‘Rinascita’.
Inoltre in collaborazione
con il sociologo sac. Marcello Godlewski di Varsavia, istituì un’Associazione
Cattolica di Lavoratori, con una pubblicazione periodica “Socio di Lavoro”.
Nel periodo del suo
insegnamento a Pietroburgo, poté constatare che gli Istituti religiosi venivano
soppressi dal governo russo e memore della vita quasi clandestina delle Ancelle
del S. Cuore, volle salvare alla stessa maniera anche l’antico Ordine dei
Chierici Regolari Mariani, del quale era rimasto solo il convento di
Marijampolé.
Quindi nel 1908 recatosi
dall’anziano Preposito Generale dell’Ordine, gli prospettò il suo piano di
riforma delle Costituzioni, ricevendo la sua piena approvazione e
l’autorizzazione ad agire presso la Santa Sede. In linea con le sue
aspirazioni, si recò a Roma nel 1909 ottenendo di emettere i voti religiosi
senza fare il noviziato.
Ritornato a Varsavia, il
29 agosto 1909 emise i voti nelle mani del Preposito Generale; subito dopo
s’impegnò nella riforma delle Costituzioni dell’Ordine, che prevedeva
l’abolizione dell’abito bianco senza sostituirlo con altro abito religioso,
abolizione dell’obbligo del coro e la professione dei voti semplici e non più
solenni.
Dette Costituzioni furono
approvate da s. Pio X il 15 settembre 1910 e padre Giorgio
Matulaitis-Matulewicz divenne il primo professo della nuova Congregazione dei
Chierici Regolari Mariani; nel contempo in clandestinità, aveva formato presso
l’Accademia di Pietroburgo un primo noviziato clandestino con tre novizi.
Nel 1911 il 14 luglio
venne eletto Superiore Generale, essendo deceduto il vecchio Preposito, allora
padre Giorgio rinunciò a tutte le cariche dell’Accademia e per evitare di
essere scoperto dalla polizia dello zar, si recò in Svizzera dove aprì un
noviziato a Friburgo, denominato “Casa di Studio” per dare l’opportunità ai
religiosi di rientrare in Russia senza problemi da parte delle autorità
zariste.
A Friburgo affluirono
parecchi sacerdoti dalla Lituania e dalla Polonia, poi fu tutto un crescendo,
nel 1913 si recò negli Stati Uniti aprendo a Chicago una Casa religiosa e un
Noviziato, nel 1915 altre Case in Polonia; ripristinò nel 1918 la vita
religiosa e il noviziato nell’antica Casa di Marijampolé in Lituania.
Il suo ardente amore per
il prossimo bisognoso lo portò, dopo la fine della Prima Guerra Mondiale, a
fondare la Congregazione delle “Sorelle dei Poveri dell’Immacolata Concezione
della B. V. Maria”, le cui Costituzioni furono approvate il 15 ottobre 1918.
Mentre era impegnato a
consolidare le sue Istituzioni, gli giunse il 23 ottobre del 1918 la nomina
pontificia di papa Benedetto XV a vescovo di Vilna in Lituania. Gli anni che
seguirono non furono facili per il nuovo vescovo, perché il territorio di Vilna
nei tre anni seguenti, conobbe ben otto governi diversi, tedesco,
russo-bolscevico, polacco, lituano.
Anche i fedeli della
diocesi erano di nazionalità diverse e ciò costituiva un grosso problema,
perché le varie etnie lottavano affinché nelle chiese si parlasse le propria
lingua; dal 1920 con il nuovo governo polacco, cominciò una grande ostilità
contro il vescovo perché non era polacco.
Mons. Giorgio Malulaitis
usò con tutti una grande carità e pazienza, infatti fondò nel 1924 la
Congregazione delle “Ancelle di Gesù nell’Eucaristia” con lo scopo di aiutare i
poveri di lingua bielorussa.
Nel 1925 dopo il
Concordato stipulato tra la S. Sede e la Polonia, la diocesi di Vilna fu
smembrata e il vescovo Matulaitis il 3 agosto 1925 lasciò Vilna e si recò a
Roma, dove fondò un Collegio internazionale per gli studenti Mariani e trasferì
qui la Casa Generalizia.
Papa Benedetto XV,
riconoscente per la sua opera, lo elevò alla dignità di arcivescovo titolare di
Aduli, nominandolo Visitatore Apostolico della Lituania, ricostituita in nuova
Repubblica.
Lavorò alacremente per la
costituzione delle cinque diocesi lituane in una Provincia Ecclesiatica
Lituana, con sede metropolitana a Kaunas; il progetto fu approvato dalla S.
Sede, la quale il 4 aprile 1929 emanò la Costituzione Apostolica “Lituanorum
gente”, che riordinava tutta l’organizzazione della Chiesa in Lituania e
confluita alla fine nel Concordato fra la S. Sede e la Repubblica Lituana, del
quale mons. Giorgio Matulaitis riuscì a gettarne le basi.
Come Visitatore
Apostolico intraprese un viaggio nel Nord America, dove visitò 92 parrocchie di
emigrati lituani, sparse un po’ dovunque. Aveva 56 anni quando un’appendicite
acuta perforata lo portò rapidamente alla morte il 27 gennaio 1927 a Kaunas; fu
sepolto nella cripta della locale cattedrale, da dove nel 1934 le sue spoglie
furono traslate nella chiesa parrocchiale di Marijampolé.
Mons Giorgio Matulaitis -
Matulewicz vero apostolo della sua terra lituana, è stato beatificato a Roma il
28 giugno 1987 da papa Giovanni Paolo II.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/92089.html
Beato Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius
Popiersie Jerzego Matulewicza w katedrze
wileńskiej w miejscu zniszcoznego popiersia i nagrobka biskupa Jana
Cieślaka
OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO
II
San Pietro - Domenica, 28
giugno 1987
1. “Siamo stati
battezzati in Cristo Gesù” (Rm 6, 3).
Oggi, giorno in cui
- in unione con la Chiesa in terra lituana - rendiamo grazie alla
Santissima Trinità per il Battesimo di quella Nazione avvenuto seicento anni
fa, San Paolo si rivolge a noi in un modo particolare.
“Non sapete che quanti
siamo stati battezzati in Cristo Gesù, siamo stati battezzati nella sua
morte? . . . siamo dunque stati sepolti insieme a lui . . . perché
come Cristo risuscitato dai morti per mezzo della gloria del Padre, . . .
possiamo . . . camminare in una vita nuova” (Rm 6, 3-4).
Se qualcuno, oggi,
domanda che cosa e successo seicento anni fa a Vilnius e in Lituania, trova la
giusta risposta nelle parole dell’apostolo appena ascoltate. Una risposta
completa. Cristo entrò nella storia personale del Granduca e dei suoi connazionali
per mezzo del suo mistero pasquale. Essi furono immersi nella morte redentrice
di Cristo, per poter insieme con Lui passare a vita nuova nella sua
risurrezione.
2. Radunati oggi, in
questa Basilica che è il centro della Cristianità, in spirituale comunione con
i nostri fratelli e sorelle della Lituania, meditiamo la realtà
sacramentale del Battesimo in tutta la sua profondità e potenza.
Quando il Risorto
inviò gli apostoli a tutte le nazioni della terra, per annunciare il
Vangelo alle genti e battezzarle nel nome della SS. Trinità, si compirono
le parole del profeta Ezechiele ricordate dall’odierna liturgia:
“Vi prenderò dalle genti,
vi radunerò da ogni terra . . . Vi aspergerò con acqua pura e sarete purificati
. . . vi darò un cuore nuovo, metterò dentro di voi uno spirito nuovo”
(Ez 36, 24-26).
Il Battesimo: sacramento
che rigenera nell’acqua e nello Spirito Santo, secondo le parole di Cristo a
Nicodemo. Il Battesimo: sacramento di una vita nuova, nella quale viene
sconfitta l’eredità del peccato originale, e innestata nell’uomo l’eredità
della Redenzione: la grazia e l’amore.
Così come prega il
Salmista: “Crea in me, o Dio, un cuore puro, rinnova in me uno
spirito saldo!” (Sal 51, 12).
Il Battesimo: prima
vittoria dello Spirito Santo nell’anima dell’uomo. Inizio della via della
salvezza eterna in Dio. Inizio del regno di Dio che e in noi.
3. La liturgia
dell’odierna solennità ci conduce verso l’uomo interiore, che viene creato
nuovamente per opera del Sacramento: “Porrò il mio spirito dentro di voi e vi
farò vivere secondo i miei precetti e vi farò osservare e mettere in pratica le
mie leggi” (Ez 36, 27).
E contemporaneamente
questa solennità conduce verso il popolo: “Abiterete nella terra che io
diedi ai vostri padri; voi sarete il mio popolo e io sarò il vostro Dio” (Ez 36,
28).
Mentre ascoltiamo le
parole del profeta, i nostri pensieri e i nostri cuori si rivolgono verso la
terra che, da secoli, è abitata dal popolo lituano: i Lituani, nostri
fratelli e sorelle nella comunione dell’eredità cattolica.
Siamo spiritualmente
uniti con quella Chiesa sorella, che in questo storico anno 1987 rende grazie
alla SS. Trinità per il dono del S. Battesimo.
Oggi, questa spirituale
comunione ha un’espressione particolarissima nella coincidenza della
nostra celebrazione sulla Tomba dell’apostolo Pietro e della celebrazione
giubilare nazionale a Vilnius. In questo stesso momento, i Vescovi, i
sacerdoti, i religiosi e le religiose sono raccolti con i loro fedeli presso la
Tomba del patrono San Casimiro: le loro voci e le nostre si innalzarlo insieme
verso il Signore, Padre di tutti e Datore di ogni bene.
La presenza in questa
Basilica di una Delegazione giunta dalla Lituania, presieduta dal venerato
Confratello Monsignor Antanas Vaicius e composta di sacerdoti rappresentanti di
ciascuna diocesi lituana, rende ancora più viva e quasi tangibile la nostra
comunione. Cari confratelli! Voi rendete in qualche modo presente in mezzo a
noi, in questo cuore della cattolicità e nel nostro cuore, il vostro
nobile popolo, la vostra Comunità così ricca di fede e di carità, e
l’inestimabile ricchezza di doni spirituali che essa, nei suoi seicento anni di
storia, ha portato e porta alla Chiesa universale.
Accogliamo oggi con gioia
anche i lituani dell’emigrazione, qui convenuti numerosi dai vari
continenti, per testimoniare la loro fedeltà al dono del “battesimo” ricevuto
dai Padri e la loro fraterna unione con la Comunità cattolica in patria.
4. Cari nostri fratelli e
sorelle della Lituania! Il Vescovo di Roma, il quale - come Successore di
San Pietro - è testimone e servitore dell’unità di tutta la Chiesa, oggi vi
saluta cordialmente e vi dona, in questa Eucaristia, il fraterno
bacio di pace.
Con tutto il desiderio
del cuore sono con voi. È un desiderio che porto in me da tanto tempo: ogni
giorno visito in preghiera la vostra Patria. In questa preghiera e nel ricordo
di voi si unisce a me tutta la Chiesa. Specialmente la Chiesa nel
continente europeo sente i profondi legami che la uniscono a voi, diletti
fratelli e sorelle, che per la stessa vostra posizione geografica e per tutta
la vostra storia, appartenete alla grande famiglia delle nazioni cristiane del
continente. Proprio per questo è oggi così eloquente la presenza di quasi
tutti gli Episcopati d’Europa: essa vi dice quanto profondamente noi tutti
sentiamo la comunione e l’unione con voi.
Ci rallegriamo per la
vostra fede e perseveranza cristiana. Insieme con voi professiamo che
“Cristo risuscitato dai morti non muore più; la morte non ha più potere su di
lui . . . Così anche voi consideratevi morti al peccato, ma viventi per Dio, in
Cristo Gesù” (Rm 6, 9.11).
Insieme con voi
supplichiamo Iddio onnipotente, affinché “vi renda degni della sua
chiamata e porti a compimento, con la Sua potenza, ogni vostra volontà di bene
e l’opera della vostra fede; perché sia glorificato il nome del Signore nostro
Gesù Cristo, e voi in Lui” (2 Ts 1, 11-12).
5. Oggi desideriamo rendere
grazie per tutti coloro che da sei secoli a questa parte sono diventati
servitori e ministri dei misteri di Dio tra i vostri avi.
E contemporaneamente
rendiamo grazie, perché il Battesimo della Lituania continua a produrre i suoi
frutti salvifici nel nostro secolo. Ne è luminosa espressione la figura
del vostro Beato Connazionale, che proprio oggi ho la gioia di elevare alla
gloria degli altari.
L’arcivescovo Giorgio
Matulaitis-Matulewicz, la cui vita e i cui meriti sono stati ricordati
poc’anzi, è un particolare dono per la Chiesa e per la Nazione
lituana nella presente circostanza del Giubileo.
Vero “servo e apostolo di
Gesù Cristo” (2 Pt 1, 1), zelante ed infaticabile nel ministero in terra
patria, in Polonia, a Roma ed in altri luoghi. Egli fu Pastore ricco di
coraggio e di iniziativa, capace di affrontare, con prudenza e spirito di
sacrificio, situazioni difficili per la Chiesa, sempre preoccupato
esclusivamente della salvezza delle anime a lui affidate.
E se egli seppe superare
oggi prova e godere di tanta larga stima, fu per le sue virtù, praticate in
modo straordinario. Ne dà testimonianza la molteplicità dei campi, in cui il
suo lavoro pastorale fu sempre fecondo di frutti: dallo zelante svolgimento
della missione sacerdotale, all’espletamento dei delicati incarichi affidatigli
dalla Santa Sede; dall’insegnamento alla promozione della cultura cattolica e
della giustizia sociale, ed all’impegno personale costante al servizio dei più
poveri e più bisognosi. Vorrei ricordare particolarmente lo zelo con cui egli
praticò e promosse la vita religiosa, riformando la Congregazione dei Chierici
Mariani e fondando quelle delle Suore dell’Immacolata Concezione e delle
Ancelle di Gesù in Eucaristia. I suoi figli e le sue figlie spirituali, oggi
qui largamente rappresentati, hanno raccolto da lui un’eredità preziosa di
santità e di dedizione alla Chiesa ed ai fratelli. Tutto questo rigoglio di
risultati nasceva da un’intensa vita interiore, che lo teneva costantemente
unito a Dio.
Il nuovo Beato è, in
special modo, uno splendido modello di Vescovo, che si fece eroicamente
“tutto a tutti”, profondamente conscio della propria missione pastorale, vero
apostolo di unità, interamente dedito all’annuncio del Vangelo ed all’opera di
santificazione delle anime.
6. Nel Vangelo di oggi
udiamo le parole di Cristo Signore: “Chi non prende la sua croce e non mi
segue, non è degno di me. Chi avrà trovato la sua vita, la perderà; e chi avrà
perduto la sua vita per causa mia (= per me), la troverà” (Mt 10, 38-39).
Ecco il più fedele riassunto
della vita e della vocazione dell’Arcivescovo Giorgio. Per cinquantasei
anni cercò di essere degno di Cristo. Perciò prese la sua croce -
molteplici furono le croci che in quei tempi decisivi gli toccò di prendere e
portare - prese dunque queste croci e segui il Cristo. Ed ora pronto - in
diversi modi - a “perdere la propria vita per Cristo”. Lo testimoniano le sue
opere e le sue parole, tutto il suo servizio pastorale. Non cercò se
stesso, non volle “trovare la propria vita”. Fu pronto a “perderla” molte
volte. Proprio per questo si trovò in quella pienezza di vita, che
all’uomo è dato di sperimentare in Cristo. Seguendolo, condusse anche gli altri
lungo la via del Vangelo; lungo la via che è frutto e conseguenza del Battesimo
“in Cristo”.
7. Oggi la Chiesa si
rivolge a voi, cari fratelli e sorelle della Lituania, con le parole di Cristo
nel Vangelo: “Accogliete un profeta come profeta. Accogliete un
giusto come giusto” (cf. Mt 10, 41). Tale è l’eloquenza di
questa beatificazione per il Giubileo del vostro Battesimo. Bisogna accogliere
i Santi con il cuore e con la fede, perché possano indicarci la strada - quella
strada il cui inizio è costituito dall’“immersione in Cristo” mediante il
Battesimo.
Insieme dunque al nuovo
Beato, che si presenta a voi, accanto a San Casimiro, patrono della Lituania,
preghiamo affinché voi non cessiate di essere “degni di Cristo”: “Chi
prende la sua croce e mi segue, è degno di me”. Così Egli dice.
Tante volte, nel corso
della vostra storia, voi avete mostrato di desiderare di essere degni di Cristo
- e, più volte, anche in modo eroico.
Che cosa possiamo
augurarvi di più oggi, in questo anno giubilare e per il futuro?
Vi auguriamo:
di essere sempre degni di Cristo!
di essere il Popolo di Dio, nel paese che Dio diede ai vostri avi-
e che Dio e Padre del nostro Signore Gesù Cristo sia sempre il vostro Dio
(cf. Ez 36, 28).
Amen.
Ai pellegrini lituani
Vi saluto con affetto,
cari fratelli lituani, convenuti a Roma per commemorare il giubileo del
Battesimo della vostra nobile nazione.
Che questa celebrazione
vi conduca sempre più vicino a Cristo.
Grazie all’intercessione
della Madre di Dio, del beato Giorgio e di San Casimiro, vi sia concessa la
forza di aderire saldamente alla fede, alla quale rimasero fedeli i vostri
padri.
Tutta la Chiesa implora
per voi la grazia di vivere una vita virtuosa, di perseverare nella fede e
nelle tradizioni cristiane e di trasmetterle alle generazioni future.
Tornando a casa, rendete
testimonianza dell’esperienza spirituale che ora provate.
Questo chiedo per voi a
Dio Onnipotente, e con affetto benedico voi e tutta la vostra nazione.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo.
Ai pellegrini di lingua
inglese
I wish to offer my
heartfelt greetings to all who have come to participate at this solemn
celebration of the six hundredth anniversary of the "Baptism" of
Lithuania and the Beatification of Archbishop Jurgis Matulaitis. I thank you
for your presence and I pray that the Lord will strengthen you in faith and
abundantly bless you and all the people of your homeland.
Ai pellegrini della
Polonia
Cordialmente do il
benvenuto e saluto i pellegrini polacchi, partecipanti nell’odierna solennità
giubilare del 600o del Battesimo della Lituania e della beatificazione del
Servo di Dio Arcivescovo Giorgio Matulaitis o Matulewicz. Mi rallegro che i
miei Connazionali condividono la gioia dei fratelli e delle sorelle nella
comune eredità cattolica in Lituania, la cui storia è così fortemente legata
alla nostra storia: e che insieme a loro ringraziano Dio perché il dono del
Santo Battesimo ricevuto tempo fa dai loro antenati, porta frutti salutari nel
nostro secolo. Una espressione di ciò è la figura del Beato, che oggi ho potuto
innalzare alla gloria degli altari. Che il suo esempio di vita e il suo
servizio pastorale svolto con dedizione siano per noi tutti una sfida a
mantenere la fedeltà nei confronti degli impegni che abbiamo preso nel Santo
Battesimo.
Ai pellegrini della
Polonia
Serdecznie witam i
pozdrawiam polskich pielgrzymów, uczestniczących w dzisiejszej jubileuszowej
uroczystości 600-lecia Chrztu Litwy i beatyfikacji Sługi Bożego Arcybiskupa
Jerzego Matulewicza.
Cieszę się, że
moi Rodacy podzielają radość Braci i Sióstr we wspólnocie
katolickiego dziedzictwa na Litwie, których historia jest tak bardzo związana z
naszą historią, i wraz z nimi dziękują Bogu za to, że dar Chrztu Świętego
przyjęty ongiś przez ich praojców, wydaje zbawcze owoce w naszym stuleciu,
czego wyrazem jest postać Błogosławionego, którego w dniu dzisiejszym dane
mi jest wynieść do chwały ołtarzy.
Niech Jego przykładne życie
i ofiarne pasterskie posługiwanie będzie dla nas wszystkich wyzwaniem do
dochowywania wierności zobowiązaniom przyjętym na Chrzcie Œ więtym.
Ai fedeli di lingua
francese
Je salue les
Représentants des Episcopats d’Europe qui ont bien voulu s’associer à cette
célébration, à notre prière et à notre joie. Des liens étroits unissent la
Lituanie, depuis l’aube de son histoire, depuis son “baptême”, à toutes les
nations de ce continent qui se sont abreuvées à la même source chrétienne.
Ensemble, nous continuerons à prier pour cette Eglise particulière, si chère à
tous.
© Copyright 1987 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione
Beato Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius
Clergy
house, Skardupiai, Marijampolė district, Lithuania
Дом
священника, д. Скардупяй, Мариямпольский р-н, Литва
Novena to Blessed George Matulaitis : https://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2016/01/novena-to-blessed-george-matulaitis.html
Beato Giorgio Matulaitis
VITA ? OPERA ? SCRITTI INTERCESSIONE ? GLORIA DEGLI ALTARI : https://images.marianweb.net/archives/pdfs/matulaitis/it/BeatoGiorgioMatulaitis.pdf
