Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis
Bishop of Vilnius who renewed the Marian Fathers and founded a congregation of sisters
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Bishop, Founder, Religious
- Life
- 1871 – 1927
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 27 January
- Countries
- Lithuania
Life story
Jurgis Matulaitis was born on 13 April 1871 at Lūginė, near Marijampolė, Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. He was ordained a priest and studied further abroad. At that time the Russian authorities had suppressed most religious orders.
He secretly revived the Marian Fathers, an order almost extinct under suppression, and in 1911 he was elected Superior General, an office he held until his death. In 1918 he founded the congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.
In late 1918 he was appointed bishop of Vilnius, a diocese with many faithful from Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian communities, in a context of political tension. He resigned in 1925 and was named a titular archbishop.
He died on 27 January 1927 in Kaunas from complications of a ruptured appendix during surgery. John Paul II beatified him on 28 June 1987 in St Peter's Basilica. His feast day is 27 January.
Works and witness
- Secretly revived the Marian Fathers under Russian suppression
- Superior General of the Marians from 1911
- Founded the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in 1918
- Bishop of Vilnius from 1918 to 1925
- Beatified in 1987
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Vatican account of the beatification, 28 June 1987
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.