Mečislovas Leonardas Paliulionis

Mečislovas Leonardas Paliulionis (; 2 December 1834 – 15 May 1908) was a Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Samogitia from 1883 until his death in 1908.

Paliulionis studied at the Varniai Priest Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy. After graduation in 1860, he taught dogmatic theology at the Varniai Priest Seminary (which was moved to Kaunas in 1863) until his consecration as bishop of Samogitia in 1883. Paliulionis worked to improve the education of priests, prioritizing practical work among the congregation, including delivering sermons and teaching children basic catechism. He also worked to improve the interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kaunas, which was elevated to cathedral status in 1895. He invited Juozas Naujalis to become the church's organist and sponsored his specialized education in Germany.

In the age of rising tension between the Lithuanian National Revival and Polish nationalism, Paliulionis generally supported both Polish and Lithuanian activities, but only as much as they were useful in his Catholic mission. As a result, he was criticized by both Polish and Lithuanian activists. Nevertheless, Paliulionis supported Lithuanian-language Catholic press. He opposed the Lithuanian press ban and supported Lithuanian book smugglers. When the press ban was lifted, he supported the Society of Saint Casimir that published Lithuanian books and periodicals and the Saulė Society that organized and maintained Lithuanian-language schools.

Biography

Early life and education

Paliulionis was born in 1834. His exact date of birth varies by source, but is recorded as in the registry of clerics at the Varniai Priest Seminary. He was born in the Smilgiai parish near Panevėžys; the exact location of his birth is unknown. His family likely were freed serfs who rented a manor or a folwark from the . He attended a school for the nobility in Panevėžys (present-day Juozas Balčikonis Gymnasium) and survived a purge of students who could not produce proper documentation of their nobility status in 1850. He graduated in 1852.

Paliulionis studied at the Varniai Priest Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy. He graduated and was ordained a priest in 1860. After his ordination, he returned to the Varniai Priest Seminary to teach dogmatic theology. After the Uprising of 1863, the seminary and seat of the Diocese of Samogitia was moved from Varniai to Kaunas, so that the Tsarist police could monitor its activities more closely. Paliulionis relocated as well and continued to teach at the seminary. At the same time, he was also a chaplain of the Kaunas Girls' Gymnasium.

Bishop

Religious affairs

Paliulionis became canon of the Samogitian cathedral chapter in 1875 and procurator of the seminary in 1880. After the death of bishop Motiejus Valančius, Tsarist authorities delayed in approving a new bishop, as Aleksander Kazimierz Bereśniewicz was only serving as apostolic administrator for the Diocese. Paliulionis was appointed bishop of Samogitia on 15 March 1883, in the hopes that he would be loyal to Russia. He was consecrated on by Szymon Marcin Kozłowski, bishop of Lutsk and Zytomierz, assisted by , bishop of Lublin, and , titular bishop of Arad.

Paliulionis worked to improve the education of priests. He extended the seminary's course to five years for those who had completed only a basic four-class education. He prioritized practical work among his congregation, including delivering sermons and teaching children basic catechism. To achieve this, he introduced a class on catechesis at the seminary and tasked Kazimieras Jaunius with preparing a short textbook on the subject. He viewed priests' interests that did not directly serve Catholicism as a weakness to be avoided – for example, he did not approve of the poetry of Maironis, the philological studies of Kazimieras Jaunius, or the mathematical interests of Antanas Baranauskas. In July 1907, he issued an instruction to organize priestly congresses in each deanery, hoping to foster greater clergical involvement in church and social affairs.

Paliulionis had to combat various Russification policies that promoted the Eastern Orthodox Church and suppressed the Roman Catholic Church. One such policy forced school students to pray for the Tsar in Eastern Orthodox churches. In 1884, Paliulionis ordered Catholic students to pray only in Catholic churches. This led to a large fine (50,000 rubles, according to Aleksandras Dambrauskas-Jakštas) but his order prevailed. According to the memoirs of Juozapas Stakauskas, Paliulionis expected to be exiled by the Tsarist authorities at any time and had a bag with necessities ready to go.

Paliulionis worked to improve the interior of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kaunas, the new seat of the Diocese of Samogitia that was officially elevated to cathedral status in 1895. During this time, the church acquired ten altar paintings by Michał Elwiro Andriolli and the central nave was decorated with a cycle of wall paintings related to the apostles Peter and Paul by and Jan Czajewicz. Paliulionis planned a thorough reconstruction, led by architect , that would turn the church into a neo-Gothic cathedral with two high towers. However, due to lack of funding, only the neo-Gothic Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament was built, sponsored by count Jonas Przeździecki. Paliulionis also invited Juozas Naujalis to become the church's organist and financed his education at the in Germany. Paliulionis also supported courses for organ players and their new school in Kaunas established by Naujalis.

Lithuanian National Revival

During Paliulionis' tenure, there were rising tensions between the Lithuanian and Polish national movements. Paliulionis was primarily a Catholic. For example, he sponsored the publication of the anonymous Lithuanian-language book ''Paskutinis pamoksłas wiena żemajcziu kuniga priesz smerti'' ("The Last Sermon of One Samogitian Priest Before Death") in 1889 (republished in 1895, 1899, and 1905). This work idealized the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and considered Eastern Orthodoxy a threat, but did not question the legitimacy of the Tsarist regime, which was considered God's punishment for sins. The book stated that repentance would bring back Catholic rule, though it did not specify whether it would be Polish or Lithuanian. Thus, faith was far more important than nationalistic considerations.

Paliulionis generally supported both Polish and Lithuanian activities, but only as much as they were useful in his Catholic mission. As a result, the contemporary Polish and Lithuanian press sometimes accused him of Lithuanian or Polish nationalism. For example, Paliulionis advocated for the use of the Lithuanian language in local churches and sought government permission to teach religion at primary schools in Lithuanian (granted in 1905), as that helped him to reach the Lithuanian-speaking population. However, he did not support younger priests who were more active in the Lithuanian National Revival; he assigned them to less desirable posts and kept them out of the cathedral chapter, a notable example being Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas. Lithuanian activists criticized Paliulionis for not removing Pranciškus Kriškijonas, the seminary's inspector who was ardently pro-Polish.

Lithuanian press

Paliulionis supported Lithuanian-language Catholic press. During the Lithuanian press ban, he opposed government efforts to publish Lithuanian texts in the Cyrillic script and financed the printing of Lithuanian religious texts in East Prussia and their smuggling into Lithuania. For example, he donated 1,000 rubles to priest so that he could smuggle and distribute Lithuanian prayer books. According to the memoirs of Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, Paliulionis supported the staging of the first Lithuanian-language theater play '' America in the Bathhouse'' in Palanga in 1899 and even recruited local nobles from the Ogiński and Tyszkiewicz families to attend
.

Paliulionis wrote an official letter to the Governor of Kaunas in June 1902, arguing for the lifting of the press ban; he also personally asked Tsar Nicholas II during an audience in May 1904 to lift the press ban, with the Tsar reportedly lifting the ban on the same day. According to the memoirs of Juozapas Stakauskas, Paliulionis wanted to petition only for an exemption for religious texts, but priest Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas convinced him to petition to lift the ban altogether.

After the ban was lifted, Paliulionis supported the Society of Saint Casimir, which was established to publish Lithuanian books and periodicals, as well as the religious weekly newspaper '' Nedėldienio skaitymas''. He also supported the Saulė Society that organized and maintained Lithuanian-language schools in the Kaunas Governorate. Due to his efforts, the Society's program was quickly revised to emphasize that it was a Catholic organization open only to Catholics.

Death and legacy

Paliulionis died on in Kaunas and was buried in a crypt in Kaunas Cathedral.

The sculptor Juozas Zikaras created bas-relief portraits of Paliulionis and his successor , which were installed at Kaunas Cathedral in 1927.

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paliulionis, Mecislovas Leonardas
1834 births
1908 deaths
Bishops of Samogitia
Lithuanian Roman Catholic bishops
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Russian Empire