Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas


The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaunas 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, with a see in Medininkai as a suffragan Diocese of the Archdiocese of Gniezno. 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 and became a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Mohilev. 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, while in the next year it gained territory from the persisting Diocese of Sejny.
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 :
;Suffragan Bishops of Samogitia
  • Matthias di Trakai, later Bishop of Vilnius
  • Mikalojus Trakiškis
  • Petras da Leopoli
  • Jokūbas Vilnietis
  • Baltramiejus Pultuskietis
  • Jurgis Vilnietis
  • Motiejus Topolietis
  • Baltramiejus Svirenkavičius
  • Martynas di Samogizia
  • Martynas Lintfaras
  • Mikalojus Radvila
  • Mikalojus Vizgaila
  • Vaclovas Virbickis
  • Jonas Domanovskis
  • Stanislovas Narkuskis
  • Viktorinas Virbickis , later Bishop of Łuck and Włodzimierz
  • Jurgis Petkūnas Petkevičius
  • Merkelis Giedraitis
  • Mikalojus Pacas , previously Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius & Titular Bishop of Modon
  • Stanislovas Kiška
  • Abraomas Voina , previously Titular Bishop of Modon & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius ; later Bishop of Vilnius
  • Merkelis Elijaševičius Geišas
  • Jurgis Tiškevičius , previously Titular Bishop of Modon & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius ; later Bishop of Vilnius
  • Petras Parčevskis , previously Bishop of Smolensk
  • Aleksandras Kazimieras Sapiega , previously Titular Bishop of Modon & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius ; later Bishop of Vilnius
  • Kazimieras Pacas , previously Bishop of Smolensk
  • Jonas Jeronimas Krišpinas-Kiršenšteinas , previously Titular Bishop of Martiria & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius
  • Jonas Mikalojus Zgierskis , previously Titular Bishop of Martiria & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius and next Bishop of Smolensk
  • Povilas Pranciškus Sapiega, Cistercians
  • Aleksandras Mikalojus Gorainis , previously Titular Bishop of Tiberias & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius, Bishop of Smolensk
  • Juozapas Mykolas Karpis
  • Antanas Tiškevičius , previously Titular Bishop of Mennith & Auxiliary Bishop of Kijów–Czernihów
  • Dominykas Lopacinskis
  • Jan Stefan Giedroyć, previously Titular Bishop of Verinopolis & Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius, Bishop of Inflanty
  • Juozapas Arnulfas Giedraitis , succeeding as former Coadjutor Bishop of Samogitia
  • Apostolic Administrator Simonas Mikalojus Giedraitis , former Titular Bishop of Adramyttium, Auxiliary Bishop of Samogitia and Coadjutor Bishop of Samogitia
  • Jonas Krizostomas Gintila
  • Motiejus Valančius
  • Apostolic Administrator Aleksandras Kazimieras Beresnevičius , Titular Bishop of Maximianopolis, former Auxiliary Bishop of Samogitia ; later Bishop of Kujawy–Kalisz
  • Mečislovas Leonardas Paliulionis
  • , previously Titular Bishop of Castoria & Auxiliary Bishop of Samogitia
  • , Marian Fathers , emeritate as Titular Archbishop of Scythopolis
;Metropolitan Archbishops of Kaunas