Sigitas Tamkevičius (born 7 November 1938) is a Lithuanian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

and Cardinal of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and Archbishop emeritus of Kaunas. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

on 5 October 2019.

Biography

He graduated from secondary school in Seirijai in 1955 and entered the

Kaunas Priest Seminary Kaunas Priest Seminary ( lt, Kauno kunigų seminarija) is the largest seminary in Lithuania serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. It is part of the Faculty of Theology of Vytautas Magnus University. Its current rector is Aurelijus Žu ...

. He spent several years in the military service in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

and then continued his theology studies, graduating from the seminary in 1962. He was ordained priest by Bishop Petras Maželis on 18 April 1962. He ministered as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

in the parishes of

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The m ...

, Lazdijai, Kudirkos Naumiestis, Prienai, Simnas. In 1968 he entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, which was then illegal under Soviet law. Tamkevičius was among the initiators of the petition action protesting the Soviet discriminating restrictions on the Kaunas Seminary. Because of that Soviet authorities forbade Tamkevičius from exercising his ministry. He worked in a factory and in the land-reclamation area for one year. While vicar in Simnas parish, Tamkevičius initiated the underground publication of the '' Chronicle of the Catholic Church of Lithuania'' in 1972. The Chronicle registered and made public in the West the facts of

religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated u ...

in Soviet Lithuania. The underground publications were persecuted by KGB. Tamkevičius was the pastor of

Kybartai Kybartai (; russian: Кибартай) is a city in Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Vilkaviškis and is on the border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. History Kybartai was founded under the reign of Sigismund I the Old ...

parish from 1975 until 1983. At the same time he was the editor of The Chronicle for 11 years until his arrest in 1983. Tamkevičius together with four other Lithuanian priests founded the Catholic Committee for Defense of the Believers’ Rights in 1978. Tamkevičius was arrested and put under trial, being accused for alleged anti-Soviet propaganda and agitation in 1983. He was sentenced with ten years term of the prison and

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. Tamkevičius spent his prison term in the labor camps of Perm and

Mordovia The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...

. He was exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

in 1988. With the liberalization of Soviet politics under

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

, he was released. The Lithuanian Bishops' Conference appointed Tamkevičius spiritual director of the Kaunas Seminary in 1989. He was appointed rector of the Seminary in 1990. Tamkevičius was appointed auxiliary bishop of Kaunas on 8 May 1991 and was consecrated a bishop on 19 May 1991.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him Archbishop of Kaunas on 4 May 1996. Within the Lithuanian

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

, he has been

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

(1999–2002, 2005–2008, and 2008–2014) and

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

(2002–2005).

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

accepted his resignation on 11 June 2015. On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him

Cardinal Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Sant'Angela Merici.

References

;Additional sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamkevicius, Sigitas 1938 births Living people People from Lazdijai District Municipality Lithuanian cardinals Archbishops of Kaunas 20th-century Lithuanian Jesuits Lithuanian anti-communists Cardinals created by Pope Francis Jesuit cardinals Jesuit archbishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II

Biography

See also

References