Military Ordinariate of Lithuania
Encyclopedia
The Military Ordinariate of Lithuania is a military ordinariate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. Immediately subject to the Holy See
, it provides pastoral care
to Roman Catholics serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and their families.
Military ordinariate
A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Immediately subject to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, it provides pastoral care
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...
to Roman Catholics serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and their families.
Military ordinaries
- Eugenijus Bartulis (current incumbent, appointed 25 November 2000)
- Gintaras Grusas (he will be ordained to the episcopate as military ordinary in the Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Vladislaus in Vilnius, Lithuania on September 4, 2010, the anniversary of Pope John Paul's visit). Bishop-designate Grusas, 48 (born 1961), was originally a technological consultant for marketing at IBM and was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Los Angeles. He studied for the priesthood beginning at 28, first at the Franciscan University of SteubenvilleFranciscan University of SteubenvilleFranciscan University of Steubenville is a Catholic institution located in Steubenville, Ohio, west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1946 by the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. In 1974, Fr...
in Steubenville, OhioSteubenville, OhioSteubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, then in 1990 (when the Pope visited his college) in Rome, at the Pontifical Beda College, then after that at the Pontifical Lithuanian College and then the Angelicum (the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas). He was ordained a priest in 1994 for the Archdiocese of VilniusArchdiocese of VilniusThe Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vilnius is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania. Established as the Diocese of Vilnius in the 14th century, it was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Pius XI on October 28, 1925...
.