Kaunas Archbishop to Participate in Šiluva Chapel Jubilee in Washington

The Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Kaunas, Lithuania, Most Rev. Lionginas Virbalas, S.J. has agreed to participate in the October 9 jubilee marking the golden anniversary of the dedication of the Šiluva Chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The archbishop will be a concelebrant at the official Mass of Thanksgiving.

Archbishop Virbalas was born in 1961 in Biržai. Having begun his theological studies in the underground seminary, he was later admitted into the Kaunas Seminary and was ordained in 1991. During his studies he entered the Society of Jesus – the Jesuits. Archbishop Virbalas earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He taught at the theological seminaries in Kaunas and Vilnius. In 2013 he was appointed Bishop of Panevėžys. The following year he was elected Vice President of the Lithuanian Bishops Conference, and since 2015 he has held the office of Archbishop Metropolitan of Kaunas.

The town Šiluva is located in the Archdiocese of Kaunas. In his letter accepting the invitation to Washington, Archbishop Virbalas noted: “Mary of Šiluva has become a preeminent guardian of the [Lithuanian] nation. She has been and continues to be a wellspring of comfort and mercy to the faithful during various times of trial. The chapel proclaims her maternal care, which has helped Lithuanians far from their homeland to endure in trust and faith. It is symbolic that the chapel’s jubilee is being celebrated during the Jubilee Year of Mercy.“

Archbishop Virbalas ends his letter of acceptance with a pastoral blessing, expressing the wish that Mary of Šiluva herself guide the work of the Jubilee Committee.