From the Diocese of Panevėžys – directly to the Vatican: six boxes of documents will be sent for the title of Blessed

For the first time in the diocese

For the first time in its history, the Diocese of Panevėžys prepared to send to the Vatican six boxes of documents, which the Congregation for the Annunciation would grant the title of Blessed to the martyr Alfonsas Lipniūnas (1905-1945), a priest of this diocese.

On June 14, the day of the priestly ordination of A. Lipniūnas, a solemn meeting of the ecclesiastical tribunal was held in the Cathedral of Christ the King to complete the case for the beatification of A. Lipniūnas, otherwise the sanctity, of the diocese . scale. The documents brought to the Vatican to prove the sanctity of this priest will be further investigated by the hierarchs of the Catholic Church.

A person who has lived a holy life is first declared a blessing according to established procedure, and even then it is possible to give him the title of saint.

“It is not really the priest Alfons who needs the title of saint. We need it. We need to have something to align ourselves with, who to turn to for intercession, so that we know who those saints are, ”said Lionginas Virbalas, former pastor of the Diocese of Panevėžys and now Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas.

He prayed for his executioners

June 14 is a particularly important date for Lithuania. Lithuania commemorates that day as Mourning and Hope, and the Catholic liturgical calendar commemorates the Lithuanian Archbishop Martyr Theophilius Matulionis (1873-1962), who was declared blessed 4 years ago. The case for this blessed holiness was prepared by the diocese of Kaišiadorys.

This year, this day is also unique for the Diocese of Panevėžys. On Monday, not only from various parts of the diocese, but also from almost all of Lithuania, a large group of believers gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King to observe the completion of the case for the beatification of priest A. Lipniūnas in the diocese.

Bishop Linas Vodopjanovas drew attention to the life paths of Blessed T. Matulionis and the candidate for Blessed A. Lipniūnas, speaking of the teaching of Jesus himself not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . The bishop emphasized that torture, intimidation and prisons did not break the soul of either T. Matulionis or A. Lipniūnas. They both stood not only steadfast, unshakable, but also forgiving of their torturers. Both martyrs prayed for those who had become their executioners.

“After all, this proves that by believing, in communion with Christ, everything can be lifted up,” said the bishop. L. Vodopyanov.

The bishop pointed out that the death of A. Lipniūnas, who had lived a holy life, became his victory.

In the boxes there are proofs of holiness

The meeting of the ecclesiastical tribunal to conclude the sanctity case was a kind of tribunal. The participants of the meeting are the postulator, otherwise the plaintiff, the judge delegated by the bishop, the defender of justice, the notary and Bishop L. Vodopjanov himself.

At the beginning of the meeting, the chancellor of the diocese of Panevėžys, priest Egidijus Tubelis, recalled that the first meeting to initiate the case for the beatification of priest A. Lipniūnas took place on the day of the commemoration of his death, March 28, 2006. The then bishop of Panevėžys Jonas Kauneckas then encouraged the collection of material proving the sanctity of the priest A. Lipniūnas. By the way, Kazimieras Paltarokas, the first parish priest of the diocese of Panevėžys, had planned and hinted that A. Lipniūnas would one day be recognized as a saint.

The documents necessary to prove the sanctity of the priest A. Lipniūnas were collected over 15 years. Up to six boxes were collected. During yesterday’s meeting in Panevėžys Cathedral, they were sealed and sealed and signed by Bishop L. Vodopjanovas.

The members of the ecclesiastical court who prepared the documents for the Congregation for the Annunciation of Saints swore that all the material collected was correct: the postulator in the case, the representative of the plaintiff (the entire diocese of Panevėžys), the priest Vitalijus Kodis, judge Sister Jūratė Marcinkevičiūtė, sister of the Convent of the Sisters of Providence of God, and Bishop L. Vodopjanovas himself.

Why not you, Alfonsai?

A. Lipniūnas was born on March 12, 1905 in the village of Talkoniai, Pumpėnai Parish, and was baptized in the Church of Pumpėnai. Growing up in a farming family with eight brothers and sisters. He has studied at Panevėžys Gymnasium. Because his parents’ family was not wealthy and had to pay tuition at the gym, gym student Alfons worked as a tutor.

Notes remain from this priest saying that while he was teaching other students he no longer had time for amusements, there was never time to join companies, which somehow shaped his character. After high school, A. Lipniūnas chose priesthood studies. The rector of the Kaunas Priests Seminary, Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis, described the already ordained priest A. Lipniūnas as a mild and coexisting man with organizational talent, good health and a good preacher. It is true that the rector drew attention to the weak eyes of the priest.

Vikaru A. Lipniūnas served in Panevėžys Cathedral. A record of his diary is preserved from that time, which was cited by the postulator of the beatification case, the priest V. Kodis.

“Men can be holy. Why not you, Alfonsai? Then the priest addressed himself.

Faith was witnessed by works

As a talented person, A. Lipniūnas, a priest from Panevėžys, was sent to French higher education institutions to learn more about Catholic science. After returning from studies, in addition to priest work, A. Lipniūnas was appointed to teach at the state pedagogical institute operating in Panevėžys at that time. However, this research institution soon moved from Panevėžys to Vilnius. The priest then headed to the capital. A. Lipniūnas gave sermons at the Gates of Dawn and St. In the church of St. John. They were so compelling that not only the believers in the entire sanctuary gathered to listen, but also those who had little to do with the church. In Vilnius, A. Lipniūnas was hit by war, occupation and the German era.

While serving in Vilnius, the priest Alfonsas established a food aid fund for the hungry. And such activities were seen during the Nazi regime as a criminal form of resistance to power. Therefore, the priest A. Lipniūnas received persecution and punishment both for the activities of this foundation, as well as for his work with the youth, futurists and for the sermons he taught not to serve the occupiers. On March 17, 1943, the Nazis arrested him and took him to the Stutthof concentration camp.

Despite the torture, the clergyman in the concentration camp did not betray the faith. Dargi, on the contrary: faith was witnessed by the works, sacrificed by H. The Mass, for which she was threatened with death, raised the spirit of martyrs. On January 25, 1945, when the war ended, the defeated Nazis decided to evacuate the Stuthof camp. A. Lipniūnas, along with other prisoners, was taken to the so-called route of death.

He named the path of death because the evacuated prisoners were herded through the greatest rush, climbed through the snow, slept in cold abandoned houses and had almost nothing to eat. Such conditions have killed many who have followed this path. This path of death extended to Puck in Poland. Following the path of death, the priest Alfons became infected with typhoid fever. Pucke, who still managed to donate the last of his life to St. Mass, died on March 28, 1945, at the age of 40. There he was buried. In 1989, the body of A. Lipniūnas was transported from the Puck Cemetery to the Panevėžys Cathedral Cemetery under the care of the Panevėžys priest, Juozapas Antanavičius.

Pending evaluation

All these facts, along with other abundant material that accredits the sanctity of A. Lipniūnas, are collected in his case of martyrdom and sanctity. This case has been translated into Italian and is ready to be transported to the Vatican. His postulator, priest V. Kodis, was in charge of handling the case.

“I declare that we are closing this case at the diocesan stage,” Bishop L. Vodopyanov said after taking the oath and sealing the boxes of documents.

According to the bishop, the hierarchs of the Church may need time to review the case and evaluate it, so he invited everyone to pray that it happens as soon as possible and that Lithuania will soon have a new blessed and then a saint. .