Marijonø sielovadinė veikla Lietuvoje pirmosios sovietinės ir nacių okupacijų metais

Abstract

The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a fraternal community of priests and non-priests, the members of which are encouraged to spread God’s glory by Christian love and apostolic legation and seek evangelical perfection for themselves. The special aim of the Congregation is to earnestly strive for all the people living on the earth or the ones who are in the purgatory to achieve eternal happiness in the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Congregation pursues this aim especially when obtaining education and teaching others, carrying out the holy service and helping priests in dioceses. One of the most important activities which is suitable for monks is to infuse faith in people’s hearts and spread virtuousness. Missions and recollections are important means for this purpose. The first Marian monastery in Lithuania was founded in 1750, in Marijampolė. After 150 years the Marian monastery vanished due to unfavourable historic circumstances, the old monks nearly died off and there were no new callings. In 1909 the Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis reopened the Congregation. The most favourable period of time for the activity of the Marian Congregation was the independence of Lithuania. During the interwar period the province of Lithuanian Marians united 165 members. The Marians settled down in several Lithuanian towns. During the first Soviet occupation conditions for pastoral care were unfavourable for the Catholic Church and congregation due to Soviet politics in respect of religion – some churches were closed, the property of churches and monasteries was nationalized and the victimization of priests and monks was started. Some monks were exiled and imprisoned. However, the Marian Congregation was still doing the work of pastoral care in different places of Lithuania. The biggest amount of remaining information comes from the archive of Marijampolė house which is kept in the National Central Archive of Lithuania. The Marians conducted recollections, preached sermons at the wake and gave sacraments. When Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany the life of the Church and Congregation revived. Monks who had been scattered in different corners of the country came back home. They found it plundered and devastated. The formation houses started to work again, the requirements of the Regulations and the usual order of recollections were observed, and the senior of the provinces started visiting the old and the newly opened houses of monks. The occupation authorities allowed monks to work in their previous workplaces, they also granted the suits of some congregations and they gave back the nationalized gymnasiums. The Marian gymnasium was not given back but the Nazis allowed teaching religion in primary schools of Lithuania, although they controlled the appointment of the teachers. Most of the prohibitions of the Soviet authorities were cancelled but the activities of the Church and the Marians were constantly controlled by the Nazis. At this time the Marians developed their activities of pastoral care to a large extent in the whole diocese of Vilkaviskis, i.e. they conducted recollections, performed missions, taught religion at schools, they appointed chaplains, made the work of the fraternities more active and administered sacraments. At the time of the Nazi occupation, as well as at the time of the interwar, parish priests were visiting their parishioners and blessing their home. In conclusion, it is worth pointing out that at the time of the Nazi occupation the conditions for the activities of pastoral care were better than the ones at the time of the Soviet occupation.