Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Simon Morkunas (Lithuanian ''Simonas Morkūnas'') (1902–1997) was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was born in

Valtūnai Valtūnai is a village in Lithuania, Ukmergė district municipality Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Munic ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

on February 16, 1902, received his education at the

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, Lithuania, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in 1933. Casimir Fatima Morkunas

Msgr. Morkunas is allegedly noted for his humanitarian and charity work in Lithuania, and for his contributions to easing the plights of displaced and oppressed people, both in Europe and in the United States. The people he aided during his early career included the poor, sick, and aged in Lithuania, where he was president of the

Society of St. Vincent de Paul The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and nam ...

. During his tenure there, he established a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

and

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

, and provided education and care for hundreds of poor children in Kaunas. During the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

he sheltered

Lithuanian Jews {{Jews and Judaism sidebar , Population Litvaks ({{Langx, yi, ליטװאַקעס) or Lita'im ({{Langx, he, לִיטָאִים) are Jews who historically resided in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuan ...

. After escaping the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation in 1944, he ministered to the displaced Lithuanian community in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

before emigrating to the United States in 1949. Morkunas remained a vocal anti-communist his entire adult life. He served as pastor and administrator of St. Casimir’s Church in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

for 39 years, retiring in 1990. At St. Casimir’s, he sponsored many Lithuanian immigrant families, while extensively adding to the spiritual, artistic, educational, and material well-being of the parish and greater community. He also maintained cordial relations with the Jewish community in Sioux City, many of whom had roots in Lithuania. It was at Fr. Morkunas’ invitation that the noted artist Adolfas Valeška decorated the sanctuary of St. Casimir's with original paintings, woodwork, and stained glass. In 1988,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

named Morkunas an Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, with the title of Monsignor. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

by Morningside College in Sioux City, which recognized his “monumental services to Christianity and humanity as a Roman Catholic clergyman. His steady commitment to education, in his home country, Lithuania, and his adopted country, the United States of America, adds special luster to his career.” He died on July 5, 1997, at the age of 95.

References

Rescuers who helped Jews in Lithuania

Biographical sketch from programme on conferring of Honorary Doctorate, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa in 1991

Historical detail of humanitarian activities in Kaunas, Lithuania
* ''Golden Jubilee of Saint Casimir Lithuanian Roman Catholic Parish'',

Draugas ''Draugas'' (English: ''Friend'') is a Lithuanian-language newspaper based in Chicago. It is the only Lithuanian daily newspaper published outside of Lithuania. Until 2011, the newspaper was published five days a week, except Sundays and Mondays ...

Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1965, pp.52-55. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morkunas, Simon 1902 births 1997 deaths People from Ukmergė District Municipality People from Vilkomirsky Uyezd American people of Lithuanian descent Lithuanian anti-communists Vytautas Magnus University alumni