Teofilius Matulionis
| Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis Venerable | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Kaišiadorys | |
 The then-bishop on 20 October 1933. | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Kaišiadorys |
| See | Kaišiadorys |
| Appointed | 9 January 1943 |
| Term ended | 20 August 1962 |
| Predecessor | Juozapas Kukta |
| Successor | Juozas Matulaitis-Labukas |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 17 March 1900 |
| Consecration |
9 February 1929 by Anton Malecki |
| Rank | Archbishop "ad personam" |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Teofilius Matulionis |
| Born |
22 June 1873 Alantos, Molėtai, Kingdom of Prussia (modern Lithuania) |
| Died |
20 August 1962 (aged 89) Seduva, Radviliškis, Lithuania |
| Previous post |
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| Sainthood | |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Title as Saint | Venerable |
| Attributes | Episcopal attire |
| Patronage |
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Teofilius Matulionis (22 June 1873 - 20 August 1962) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic archbishop.[1] Matulionis studied abroad before his ordination to the priesthood and was consecrated in secret after Pope Pius XI nominated him to the episcopate; he was unable to exercise most of that time due to several arrests due to his defense of the faith and his pastoral activism which angered communist authorities. The bishop was arrested a further time after being tapped to head a Lithuanian diocese and his release saw him forbidden to return to his diocese; he died in isolation with an unidentified drug found in his bloodstream indicating he was murdered during a routine apartment check.[2][3]
The cause for his beatification commenced under Pope John Paul II on 2 April 1990 and Matulionis became titled as a Servant of God. Pope Francis - on 1 December 2016 - approved that Matulionis had died "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and thus approved for his beatification to take place; it shall be celebrated sometime in Lithuania in 2017.
Life
Teofilius Matulionis was born on 22 June 1873 in the then-Kingdom of Prussia as 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). His father remarried after his wife died and he went on to have another seven children with his new wife.[3]
Matulionis studied at Antalieptėje from 1887 to 1892 and then at Daugavpils from 1892 to 1900; graduated from his high school education in Daugpilis in Latvia and then commenced his theological studies for the priesthood in Saint Petersburg in Russia where he was later ordained on 17 March 1900.[3] But he once doubted his own abilities to be a priest so suspended his studies to teach for a brief period before returning to continue his studies towards ordination. He learnt the Russian language to better develop a relationship with the faithful in addition to learning Latvian and Polish. He also served as a curate after this in several Latvian parishes for a brief period of time.[1][2] His first main pastoral post was in Latgalia in Latvia in a small parish from 26 June 1900 to 1901 but he was later transferred in 1910 to the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Jesus in Saint Petersburg where the faith was part of the minorities. His active efforts there soon led to the construction of a new parish church and he was thus recognized and titled as a Monsignor for this effort.[1] He lived in Saint Petersburg from 1910 to 1929.
Pope Pius XI later nominated him into the episcopate in two positions on 8 December 1928 and Matulionis received his episcopal consecration in secret in 1929 from Bishop Anton Maleck. But his pastoral work was often hampered due to constant communist pressure and in 1923 the authorities soon enacted a decree that ordered the confiscation of all churches; this act needed their pastors to sign it but Matulionis refused to sign it and was arrested with a sentence that kept him confined to prison until 1925.[1] The bishop was arrested a second time and was then sentenced to a decade of hard labor in the Arctic where the cold and damp climate impaired his health. He often pulled logs from the cold water and bought them from there through the snow and he often awoke in the middle of the night to celebrate the Mass in secret. Matulionis also used actual bread as the Eucharist and he consecrated it and distributed it in secret to fellow inmates when he could do so. His poor health forced the authorities to relocate him to a prison in Saint Petersburg where he was placed in confinement with the hope of breaking his resolve. But fortune shone when the Lithuanian government signed an accord with the Soviet Union for a mutual prisoner exchange on both sides that saw the release of ten prisoners from the latter including the frail bishop.[1]
From 1934 until 1936 he resided in the United States of America and also visited both Cairo and Jerusalem during his travels.[3] 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 a diocesan bishop. The communist occupation of Lithuania saw him arrested a third time due to the release of a pastoral letter he issued and in 1945 was sentenced to another decade of imprisonment; his release in 1955 saw him go to Birštonas after his release and was forbidden to ever return to his diocese.[2] From 1947 to 1948 he was jailed in Orsha and in another jail from 1948 to 1953 amongst other places.
On 25 December 1957 - at Christmas - he carried out the canonical episcopal consecration for a new bishop - the future cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius - without the consent of the communists who ridiculed Matulionis for the location in which he carried it out - a small kitchen - but the bishop retorted that the communists should bear the shame for forcing him to enact it there instead of in a church. This unconsented act also saw him exiled to Seduva and he remained there in total isolation for the remainder of his life.[2] In 1962 he was made an archbishop "ad personam" under Pope John XXIII who noted him for his witness to the faith in the face of persecution; this act did not elevate his diocese to that of an archbishopric.
Matulionis died on 20 August 1962 not long after a routine USSR check of his apartment that saw him drugged with an unknown medicine that killed him; his remains were interred in his diocesan cathedral on the condition from the USSR that no demonstrations in his honor be held since the latter deemed it to be dangerous. His remains were exhumed in 1999 in which it was confirmed that he was poisoned since lead and other traces still remained.
Posthumous honors
In 2003 he was granted the posthumous honor of having the Life Saving Cross bestowed upon him while he was likewise awarded another posthumous award in 2006 known as the Cross of the Order of the Grand Cross for his heroism and sacrifices.[1][3]
Beatification
The beatification process commenced under Pope John Paul II on 2 April 1990 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the official "nihil obstat" (nothing against) to the cause and titled him as a Servant of God; the diocesan process spanned from 1990 until 1 May 2008 in which eight volumes of documentation and other material were collected. The C.C.S. validated this process on 18 June 2010 and received the Positio from the postulation in 2015. Theologians met and approved the cause as did the C.C.S. on 18 October 2016; Pope Francis confirmed on 1 December 2016 that Matulionis had died "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and thus approved the beatification.
Matulionis shall be beatified sometime in 2017 in Lithuania.
The current postulator for this cause is Fr. Mindaugas Sabonis.