Pranciškus Būčys

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Pranciškus Petras Būčys
University of Lithuania (1924–1925)
Superior-General of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (1927–1933, 1939–1951)
Orders
Ordination25 March 1899
Consecration6 July 1930
by Kiril Kurtev
RankTitular bishop
Personal details
Born(1872-08-20)20 August 1872
Šilgaliai [lt], Suwałki Governorate, Congress Poland
Died25 October 1951(1951-10-25) (aged 79)
Rome, Italy
BuriedCampo Verano[1]
NationalityLithuanian
DenominationCatholic
Alma materSejny Priest Seminary
Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy
University of Fribourg
MottoFor Christ and Church[2]

Pranciškus Petras Būčys (

Eastern Catholic Church (consecrated in 1930), and Superior-General of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception
(1927–1933, 1939–1951).

Born to a Lithuanian peasant family active in book smuggling, he studied at the Marijampolė Gymnasium and Sejny Priest Seminary and was active in Lithuanian cultural life. He started contributing articles to Lithuanian press, including Vienybė lietuvninkų and Varpas, in 1891. He continued his studies for a master's degree at the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy where he formed a life-long friendship with fellow cleric Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius. He earned his doctorate in theology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland in 1901. In 1902, he became professor of apologetics and fundamental theology at the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, he participated in the Great Seimas of Vilnius and helped draft the program of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party. Bučys was prorector and acting rector of the academy in 1912–1915, but resigned upon learning that he would not be promoted to rectors because he was not Polish.

Together with Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Bučys joined the

Eastern Catholicism. He visited Russian diaspora in Europe and United States working to organize parishes. In 1934, he was ordered to work on converting Russians in Lithuania
. He worked for five years organizing Eastern Catholic masses, public lectures, and publications, but did not achieve any more noteworthy results. He was reelected as the Superior-General of the Marian Fathers in 1939 and moved to Rome where he lived until his death in 1951.

Biography

Early life and education

Būčys was born in the Šilgaliai [lt] village situated on the Šešupė river which acted as a natural border between Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) and East Prussia. He was the eldest of eight children in a Lithuanian peasant family that owned 86 morgen of land and was active in Lithuanian cultural life.[3] His uncle Pranciškus Būčys (1849–1925) was a pastor in Gelgaudiškis and organized a circle of Lithuanian book smugglers.[4][5] Būčys' father Jonas, uncle and godfather Petras, and brother Juozas were all involved in book smuggling.[6][7] His brother Andrius also became a priest.[6]

Būčys as a student

Būčys received his first education at home before entering a primary school in

Vilnius Priest Seminaries. They held discussions with clerics in Kaunas and Vilnius, including about replacing Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga with another publication, but the plans did not come to fruition.[3][10] Starting in 1891, Būčys also contributed articles to Ūkininkas, Vienybė lietuvninkų, Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga, Varpas.[6] In Varpas, he argued with editor Vincas Kudirka about Caritatis, an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII in which the pope urged Polish bishops to obey Russian authorities. Kudirka attacked the encyclical citing the example of the Kražiai massacre in 1893 while Bučys defended it.[3] He helped publish a Lithuanian translation of a collection of sermons by Karol Fischer [pl] (published in 1894) and edited a translation of The Month of Mary by Paweł Smolikowski [pl] (published in 1900).[6]

He continued studies at the

bone tuberculosis.[4] To earn a living, Bučys held masses in Autigny and was chaplain of a girls' agricultural school in Orsonnens [de].[3] He defended his expanded thesis on Saint Stanislaus, which was translated from Latin to Polish and published in 1902,[11] and earned Doctor of Theology in July 1901.[6]

Saint Petersburg and United States

Upon return to Lithuania in late 1901, Būčys hoped to become an editor of a Lithuanian newspaper and live in Tilsit (present-day

Archbishop of Warsaw, Būčys was an acting rector from May 1913 to March 1915, but as a non-Pole was not officially confirmed as rector.[6] Upon learning that he would not become rector, he resigned from the academy and briefly worked as a religion teacher at different schools and as a private tutor.[3]

In 1904, Bučys together with Maironis and Adomas Jakštas wrote the program of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party. In December 1905, during the Russian Revolution of 1905, Būčys participated in the Great Seimas of Vilnius and became a member of its five-member presidium when Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas resigned in his favor.[14][15] He did not chair a single session, but attempted to moderate extreme positions and opinions.[3] He later faced criticism that before the end of World War I, he supported autonomy for Lithuania within the Russian Empire and not full independence.[2] In Saint Petersburg, Bučys contributed articles to Lithuanian (he had his own sections in Šaltinis and Vadovas,[3] Vilniaus žinios, Lietuvių laikraštis, Nedėldienio skaitymas, Draugija, Viltis, Vienybė), Polish (Przegląd Katolicki, Wiadomości Archidiecezjalne, Wiadomości Kościelne, Atenaum Kapłańskie), Belgian (Le Messager du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus), and American (New World in Chicago) press.[6] He supported seven different Lithuanian societies and organizations in Saint Petersburg.[16]

Matulaitis-Matulevičius joined him as a professor at the academy in 1907. They often discussed reviving the

Samogitia.[11]

During World War I, Būčys served as a priest and teacher to a Lithuanian refugee community in the

Chicago, Illinois[6] where Matulaitis-Matulevičius personally established the first house of the Marian Fathers in August 1913.[17] He traveled via Finland, Sweden, Norway, UK, and France to Naples in Italy where he boarded a ship on 16 October. He reached Brooklyn on 3 November 1916.[6] He received 70,000 rubles from the Lithuanian Society for the Relief of War Sufferers for the journey and was tasked with petitioning Pope Benedict XV to declare the Lithuanian Day, an international fundraising drive for the benefit of war refugees. Bučys was refused, but priest Konstantinas Olšauskas later managed to get the approval.[3]

In United States, Bučys served as the pastor of Lithuanian parishes in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (August 1917 – May 1918) and Waukegan, Illinois (June 1918 – July 1921). From December 1918, he was also chaplain of the monastery of the Sisters of Saint Casimir and religion teacher at their school.[6] At the same time, he edited the struggling Lithuanian daily Draugas (in February–July 1917 and September 1918 – July 1920)[3] and in 1920 established religious weekly Laivas which continued to be published by the Marian Fathers in Chicago until 1990.[18] He was also a member of the commission that collected a million signatures under a petition to President Warren G. Harding to recognize independent Lithuania.[4]

Independent Lithuania

In July 1921, Būčys returned to Lithuania. From 1921 to 1923, he was rector of the

University of Lithuania. He drafted the plan for the faculty and traveled to Rome to have it approved by the Congregation for Catholic Education. He also worked on the university statute.[3] When the university was officially opened in February 1922, Būčys became professor of the fundamental theology. He was dean of the Faculty of Theology (April 1922 – August 1923), university prorector (September 1923 – September 1924), rector (September 1924 – September 1925), and again dean of the Faculty of Theology (September 1925 – September 1926).[6]

He helped in organizing and was a board member of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science (he attempted to establish the academy in 1907, but it was organized only in 1922).[20] He organized the transfer of funds raised for a Catholic university to the new academy.[11] He became a true academic member of the academy in 1936.[20] In 1922, he proposed to build a church in Žaliakalnis neighborhood of Kaunas as a monument to Lithuania's independence. The idea was supported by Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, bishop Juozapas Skvireckas, and others and the construction of the Christ's Resurrection Church started in 1934.[21][22] He continued to contribute articles to the press: he edited daily Laisvė (Freedom) in 1921 and published articles in Rytas, Lietuva, Šaltinis, Tiesos Kelias, Kosmos.[6] In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (2nd class) in 1928.[23]

From 1923, Būčys was deputy of Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Superior-General of the Marian Fathers.

Washington D.C., and Thompson, Connecticut.[6] Būčys worked to formalize statute, rules, and regulations of the congregation. He represented Lithuania and was elected as honorary member to the committees at the international Eucharistic congresses in Sydney, Australia (1928), Carthage, Tunisia (1930), and Dublin, Ireland (1932).[6]

Eastern Catholic mission

Before his death, Matulaitis-Matulevičius considered a

St. Michael the Archangel Church for its purposes. While Lithuanian priests resisted learning Eastern rites and Lithuanian diplomats reconsidered their support due to possible negative effects on relations with Russia, Bučys continued with the mission.[24]

From 1929, Būčys was an advisory member of the

Bulgarian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Sofia, at the Church of San Clemente al Laterano. According to traditions, Bučys adopted a new name and chose Petras (Peter).[3] He visited Russian communities in eight countries (including France, Belgium, Yugoslavia) in 1930 and Marian Fathers in United States in 1931. In 1932 and 1933, he visited United States organizing Catholic missions among the Russian immigrants.[6] The Marian Fathers reelected him as their Superior-General in 1933, but the pope would not confirm the results and Bučys was forced to resign.[3] He returned to Lithuania in June 1934 for the first Lithuanian Eucharistic Congress in Kaunas. He had a round-trip ticket and was expecting to return to United States, but received orders from the Vatican to remain in Lithuania and work among local Russians.[24]

In October 1934, he held Eastern rite masses at the

Telšiai Priest Seminary. At the same time he visited various villages with larger populations of Eastern Orthodox and Old Believers, wrote articles to the press, including an academic study on the history and demographics of Eastern Orthodox and Old Believers in Lithuania, and published a book of popular readings for the faithful.[24]

In November 1936, both Bučys and the Marian Fathers petitioned

St. Michael the Archangel Church. He had two to four assistants. They held lectures on the need to eliminate the East–West Schism, tried to convert local Eastern Orthodox priests, published religious literature, but failed to convert a single more prominent member of the intelligentsia or the clergy or establish a single parish.[24] They tried to expand the mission to Latvia, but were blocked from entering the country. Bučys was disappointed and disillusioned with the mission as many prospective converts had some ulterior motives (e.g. financial gain). After the death of Pope Pius XI in February 1939, Bučys was reelected as the Superior-General of the Marian Fathers in July 1939 and finally allowed to leave for Rome.[24]

After the

brain hemorrhage in September 1951 and a day before his death received permission to hold Latin rite masses.[3] He died in October 1951 in Rome and was buried at the Campo Verano.[1]

Works

In addition to some 600 articles published in more than 30 periodicals,[16] Būčys published a number of separate books on various topics.[3] He published a collection of his articles as separate books Tikėjimo dalykai in 1913 and Gyvenimo pagrindas in 1931. His most important work is a three-volume theological work aimed at an average priest and school graduate. The three volumes on God the Creator, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit were published in 1929–1932.[3] His popular works include books about the Lourdes apparitions (first published in 1909, third edition in 1943), cautionary tales promoting the temperance movement (in 1925 and 1939), parents' right and obligation to raise and educate their children (in 1927), a conversation about the soul (in 1930). He also published guides for priests (collection of sermons in 1936, spiritual exercises in 1925), theology textbooks (brief apologetics in 1922, 1923, and 1926, on fundamental theology in 1923 and 1926, on theological encyclopedia in 1925), historical and demographic study on the Eastern Orthodox and Old Believers in Lithuania (in 1936),[6] an essay on education arguing that the state should only finance schools that should be run by communities and organizations in 1918, a report on the 29th Eucharistic congress in 1929, a review of a book on ethics by Adomas Jakštas (Su Jakštu per pikto laukus in 1937), a work of fiction (Rapukus kaupiant in 1928), and others.[3] He wrote six notebooks (396 pages) worth of memoirs and published excerpts in Tėvynės sargas; they were published posthumously in 1966.[3] He left other thick volumes of manuscripts on his thoughts for the Marian Fathers, on good behavior, and miracles of Jesus as well as an extensive biography of Justinas Pranaitis.[3]

Bučys was one of four most prominent Lithuanian apologists of the time (others were Adomas Jakštas, Justinas Staugaitis, and Pranas Dovydaitis). The public discussion of apologetics peaked in the Lithuanian press around 1910–1915.[12] In his writings, Bučys was rather soft and polite. Most frequently he used arguments based on history and natural science.[12] He avoided dry theory and searched for a more practical approach and real-life examples.[2] He had a good memory and knew more than ten languages (he could write rather fluently in six of them – Lithuanian, Latin, Polish, Russian, French, and English).[2][12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mišios už Romoje palaidotus lietuvius" (in Lithuanian). Vatikano radijas. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0002-208X
    .
  3. ^
    ISSN 0002-208X
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Petraitienė, Irena (5 September 2012). "Palaimintojo J. Matulaičio bendražygis - vysk. P.Būčys" (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. ^ Katilius, Algimantas (2010). "Būčys / Buczys Pranciškus". Lietuvos katalikų dvasininkai XIV – XXI amžiuje (in Lithuanian). Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. ^
    OCLC 14547758
    .
  7. ^ "Knygnešių šventa gadynė". Slavikai.lt (in Lithuanian). 13 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Milùkas Antanas". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras. 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  9. OCLC 35388671
    .
  10. ISBN 9986-09-018-0
    .
  11. ^
    ISSN 1392-0499
    .
  12. ^
    ISSN 2377-5297
    .
  13. ISSN 0455-177X
    .
  14. ISSN 0024-5089
    .
  15. ISBN 5-415-00658-3
    .
  16. ^
    ISSN 2029-1299
    .
  17. ISBN 0-933820-04-6
    .
  18. ^ Gustaitė, Genovaitė (2007-01-31). ""Laivas"". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras.
  19. ^ Grigonis, J. "Prieškario marijonų pastoracinė veikla bažnyčioje" (in Lithuanian). Gertrūdos bažnyčia. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  20. ^
    ISBN 978-9986-592-69-3
    .
  21. ^ "Pirmosios nepriklausomybės laikotarpis". Bernardinai.lt (in Lithuanian). Kauno Kristaus Prisikėlimo parapija. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  22. ^ Vyšniauskas, Marius (2014-04-17). "Three architectural giants of faith". kamane.lt. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  23. ^ a b Streikus, Arūnas (2002-12-16). "Būčys Pranciškus Petras". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras.
  24. ^
    ISSN 1069-4781
    .

External links
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