Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas

Last updated
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaunas

Archidioecesis Metropolitae Kaunensis

Kauno Arkivyskupija Metropolitas
Kauno senamiestis by Augustas Didzgalvis (cropped).jpg
Kaunas Cathedral, the mother church of the Archdiocese
Location
CountryFlag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Statistics
Area8,750 km2 (3,380 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2016)
655,000
524,000 (80%)
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established1417
(As Diocese of Žemaičiai)
4 April 1926
(As Archdiocese of Kaunas)
Cathedral Cathedral Basilica of St Peter and St Paul
Patron saint John the Baptist
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Metropolitan Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas
Suffragans Diocese of Šiauliai, Diocese of Telšiai, Diocese of Vilkaviškis
Auxiliary Bishops Algirdas Jurevičius (Apostolic Administrator)
Bishops emeritus
Map
Lituania - Arcidiocesi di Kaunas.png
Map of the Archdiocese
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.

Contents

History

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Varniai, cathedral of the Diocese of Samogitia until 1864 Aerial view of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Varniai, Lithuania in 2019.jpg
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Varniai, cathedral of the Diocese of Samogitia until 1864

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).

Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas.jpg
Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas

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.
Jozef Arnulf Giedroyc, longest serving Bishop of Samogitia Jozef Arnulf Giedroyc.PNG
Józef Arnulf Giedroyć, longest serving Bishop of Samogitia
Metropolitan Archbishops of Kaunas
Kestutis Kevalas, Archbishop since 2020 BiskupTelsiaiKestutisKevalas1.jpg
Kęstutis Kėvalas, Archbishop since 2020

Related Research Articles

Gratianopolis was an ancient city and Roman Catholic diocese in Mauretania Caesariensis in present-day Algeria. It was one of several towns named after the Roman emperor Gratian, and is only known from mentions in church council minutes. Its history, location and present condition are unknown. The name survives as a Roman Catholic titular see, and since 1911 has been the title of the Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Madagascar

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antananarivo is one of five Latin Metropolitan Archdioceses in Madagascar, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston (Canada)</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Canada that includes part of the federal Province of Ontario in southeastern Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague</span> Latin Christian archdiocese of the Catholic Church

The Archdiocese of Prague (Praha) (Latin: Archidioecesis Pragensis; Czech: Arcidiecéze pražská) is a Metropolitan Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Bohemia, in the Czech Republic.

The Diocese of Prince-Albert, in Saskatchewan, is a Latin Catholic suffragan in the western Canadian ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Regina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg</span> Catholic archdiocese in France

The Archdiocese of Strasbourg is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, first mentioned in 343 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Poland

The Archdiocese of Białystok is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Northeastern Poland. It is a metropolitan see with two suffragan dioceses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełm</span> Roman Catholic titular see in Poland

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełm(-Lublin) was a Latin Catholic bishopric in southeastern Poland, from 1257 until its suppression in 1805, which was restored as Latin titular see in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Pinsk</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Belarus

The Diocese of Pinsk is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in Belarus. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Telšiai</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Lithuania

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Telšiai is a suffragan Latin diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Kaunas, one of two in Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mohilev</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Archdiocese of Mohilev was a territorial Latin rite division of the Catholic Church, covering the greater part of the territory of the Tsarist Russian empire. The Cathedral was the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Guadix</span> Diocese of the Catholic Church in Spain

The Diocese of Guadix is a Latin suffragan diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of Granada in Andalusia, southern Spain and a Latin titular bishopric under its Ancient name of Acci. Its cathedral episcopal see is Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación, dedicated to Our Lady of the Annunciation, in the city of Guadix, administrative province of Granada. It was commenced in 1710, on the site occupied by the principal mosque, and completed in 1796.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Szombathely</span> Catholic diocese in Hungary

The Diocese of Szombathely is a Latin suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Veszprém in Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Ukraine

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr is a suffragan diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Ukraine in ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth is a Latin Church archdiocese that includes part of the civil province of Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Smolensk</span> Former Latin Catholic diocese in Russia

The Diocese of Smolensk was a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church. Founded in 1636 and dissolved in 1818, it was initially located within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and later in Czarist Russia.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Canea or Cidonia was a bishopric on Crete, with see at present Chania, and afterward was twice a Latin titular see.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ohrid was a Latin Catholic archdiocese, suppressed in the 1700s, and is now a titular see, at modern Ohrid in North Macedonia.

Turuda was an ancient Roman-Berber city and former diocese in Africa Proconsulare in Algeria. It is currently a Roman Catholic titular see.

The Diocese of Novigrad was a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Novigrad, Istria, Croatia until it was suppressed to the Diocese of Trieste in 1831.

References

    54°54′N23°53′E / 54.900°N 23.883°E / 54.900; 23.883