Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas explained

Jurisdiction:Metropolitan Archdiocese
Kaunas
Latin:Archidioecesis Metropolitae Kaunensis
Local:Kauno Arkivyskupija Metropolitas
Country: Lithuania
Area Km2:8,750
Area Sqmi:3,379
Population:655,000
Population As Of:2016
Catholics:524,000
Catholics Percent:80
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Rite:Roman Rite
Established:1417
(As Diocese of Žemaičiai)
4 April 1926
(As Archdiocese of Kaunas)
Cathedral:Cathedral Basilica of St Peter and St Paul
Patron:John the Baptist
Bishop Title:Metropolitan Archbishop
Suffragans:Diocese of Šiauliai, Diocese of Telšiai, Diocese of Vilkaviškis
Auxiliary Bishops:Algirdas Jurevičius (Apostolic Administrator)
Archdeacon:for one-->
Map:Lituania - Arcidiocesi di Kaunas.png
Map Size:250px
Website:Website of the Diocese

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaunas (Latin: Archidioecesis Metropolitae Kaunensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. The episcopal see is in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. The archdiocese's motherchurch and cathedral is Kaunas Cathedral Basilica; it is also home to a Minor Basilica in a town of Šiluva, in the region of Samogitia.

History

Predecessor of the diocese was established according to directions from the Council of Constance on October 24, 1417, as the Diocese of Samogitia (Polish: Żmudź; Lithuanian: Žemaitija), with a see in Medininkai. It was the second Catholic diocese in ethnic Lithuanian parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On March 25, 1798, it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Wigry. On July 3, 1848, it gained territory from the persisting then Diocese of Vilnius, now Lithuania's other Metropolitan see. On June 9, 1920, it lost territory to the existing Diocese of Riga (in Latvia), while in the next year it gained territory from the persisting Diocese of Sejny (in Poland).

The Apostolic constitution, issued by Pius XI, intended to structure the diocesan territories in accordance with the actual boundaries of Lithuanian Republic after the Declaration of Independence in 1918. Due to fact, that claimed Lithuanian capital city Vilnius and the eastern parts of the country were seized by Polish troops in 1920 and annexed by Poland in 1922, Kaunas became not only the Temporary capital of Lithuania but also was promoted by Pope Pius XI on April 4, 1926, into the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaunas, initially with as suffragan sees Vilkaviškis and Telšiai in the new Lithuanian ecclesiastical province. The then diocese of Vilnius was also elevated into a Metropolitan Archbishopric with its ecclesiastical province in Polish territory.

It enjoyed a Papal Visit from Pope John Paul II in September 1993. On May 28, 1997, parts of the archdiocese have been ceded to the newly founded suffragan Diocese of Šiauliai.

Province

Its ecclesiastical province comprises the Metropolitan's own archbishopric and the following suffragan sees :

Episcopal ordinaries

Suffragan Bishops of Samogitia
  • See List of bishops of Samogitia.
    Metropolitan Archbishops of Kaunas

    References

    Source and External links

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