In Vilnius Metropolitan Cathedral – in Polish!

On April 23rd, the day of Saint George, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Vilnius, the enthronement of a new ordinary of Saint Stanislaus Bishop and Saint Vladislav Metropolitan Cathedral was held. The place of Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis has been taken by the new metropolitan bishop – Archbishop Gintaras Grušas. In the solemn homily, the Archbishop addressed to the faithful not only in Lithuanian, but also in Polish and English.

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas began performing the duties of the Vilnius metropolitan bishop by celebrating the solemn Mass in the company of the nuncio, Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, suffragan bishop Arūnas Poniškaitis, bishops and the assembled priests. The bishops from neighbouring countries – from the Archdioceses of Riga, Minsk, Pinsk, Białystok, from Ireland and the Papal nuncios from Belarus and Estonia also participated in the ingress. The joint church service was attended by the representatives of the Orthodox Church and the Protestant denominations. The representatives of the political authorities of the country, including President Dalia Grybauskaitė, were present.

“Grace, mercy and peace” – such motto has been chosen by the new bishop, stressing that the  grace flowing from the sacraments gives the beginning to everything. “Mercy which had been so impressively revealed in Vilnius, reminds us that experiencing God’s love, the remission of sins, using the gift of the sacrament, we have to proclaim the mercy of God by forgiving one another, sharing the gifts that God had given us” – said the Archbishop in the homily.

The Archbishop reminded that in Vilnius there was no shortage of those who guarded the truth – Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis, God’s servant Mieczysław Reinys, the late Archbishop Julionas Steponavičius. He spoke about the example of the lives of saints connected with the Archdiocese of Vilnius such as Saint Casimir, Saint Raphael Kalinowski, Saint Faustina or Blessed Michael Sopocko. “Their love for God encourages us to preach the word of God incessantly” – stressed in his homily Archbishop Gintaras Grušas.

In the solemn homily, the Archbishop addressed also to the Poles. “I was brought up in the family of emigrants, so I understand the concern about own culture and language and the loyalty and love for the country of residence. Only Christ helps in this and as the shepherd, he  leads us to the unity. I invite the congregation of the Archdiocese, being the people of God, to walk together to Christ. Let the rays of Devine Mercy from the heart of Jesus light this way” – said the Archbishop and his words spoken in Polish were rewarded with thunderous applause of the faithful.

Based on: BNS

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/w-wilenskiej-archikatedrze-po-polsku

Tłumaczenie Barbara Rożek w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Barbara Rożek within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.