Juozapas Skvireckas : Further reading Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juozapas Skvireckas

Lithuanian archbishop

His Excellency Juozapas Skvireckas
Archbishop of Kaunas
Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Kaunas
Appointed	5 April 1926
In office	1926–1959
Successor	Vincentas Sladkevičius
Orders
Ordination	24 June 1899
Consecration	13 July 1919 by Antanas Karosas
Personal details
Born	(1873-09-18)September 18, 1873 Pašilaičiai, Vilnius, Russian Empire
Died	December 3, 1959(1959-12-03) (aged 86) Zams, Austria
Nationality	Lithuanian

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