Teofilius Matulionis
Seduva, Radviliškis, Lithuania | |
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Previous post(s) |
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Sainthood | |
Feast day | 14 June |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 25 June 2017 Vilnius Cathedral, Lithuania by Cardinal Angelo Amato |
Attributes | Episcopal attire |
Patronage |
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Teofilius Matulionis (22 June 1873 – 20 August 1962) was a
Pope Francis approved his beatification on 1 December 2016 and it was celebrated in Vilnius at the cathedral square on 25 June 2017.
Life
Teofilius Matulionis was born on 22 June 1873 in Molėtai, a town then in the Russian Empire, now in Lithuania. He was the second of three children to Jurgis Matulionis (1833–1911) and Ona Juočepytė (1851-9 May 1877); his two brothers were Jonas (1871–1920) and Juozas (1875–1955). After his mother died, his father remarried, and he and his second wife had seven children.[1]
Matulionis studied at Antalieptė from 1887 to 1892 and then at
From 1934 until 1936 he lived in the United States. He also visited Cairo and Jerusalem,[1] and parts of Western Europe.[4] In 1934 he met Pius XI in a private audience and the pope said to him: "It is an honor to the Lithuanian nation to have such a hero". In 1943, during World War II, Pope Pius XII made him bishop of Kaišiadorys, Lithuania. He was arrested a third time for releasing a pastoral letter in 1946 and was sentenced to another decade in prison.[3] Upon his release in 1956, he was forbidden to exercise his role as bishop and held under house arrest in Birštonas.[4]
On 25 December 1957, he consecrated
Matulionis died on 20 August 1962 not long after a routine USSR KGB check of his apartment during which he was drugged. He had previously been denied permission to attend the Second Vatican Council.[5] The government allowed his remains to be interred in his diocesan cathedral on condition that no demonstrations occur. His remains were exhumed in 1999 and tests confirmed that he had been poisoned.[6]
Posthumous honors
In 2003 he was granted the Life Saving Cross and in 2006 awarded the Cross of the Order of the Grand Cross for his heroism and sacrifices.[2][1]
Beatification
The beatification process began under
The current postulator for this cause is Fr. Mindaugas Sabonis.
References
- ^ a b c d P. Celiešius (1963). A. Mickevičius (ed.). "Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis (1873 -1962)". Lituanus. 9 (1). Lithuanian Students Association. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Teofilius Matulionis". Diocese of Kaišiadorys. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Teofilo Matulionis Dead; Spent 17 Years in Soviet Prisons" (PDF). New York Times. 26 August 1962. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781317475934. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Thousands attend Beatification of Lithuania's Catholic martyr Matulionis". Vatican Radio. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- 15min.lt(in Lithuanian). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ "US Priest Recognized as Martyr". Zenit. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2017.