George Matulaitis Journal

I also sent my servant, Andrius Meciunas. 1 The meeting was not a success for the Bolsheviks: the people would not let them touch the Church or the Faith; they protested by coughing, clearing their throats, and shouting. The Catholic workers also spoke up in defense of the Church and their Faith. About 90% of those who attended the meeting were good Catholics and only about 10% were supporters of the Bolsheviks. I heard that they held another meeting on Sunday for the delegates of the farm workers who had gathered. But they got nowhere with these peo- ple as well. Apparently, the Bolsheviks themselves have realized that such meetings to discredit the Faith will not be very effective, since the Bolshevik press has not said a word about the purpose of these gatherings. In their reports about the arrest of Father Muckermann they lied, perhaps to calm the people, saying that I had promised to send two of my own delegates to persuade Father Muckermann and the people with him to surrender, but that I had not kept my promise. On Sunday my pastoral letter was read in all the churches of Vilnius and some copies were distributed to the people. In some places my letter was posted on the church doors, but later it was torn off. Father Tumas came to see me early in the morning to tell me what charges the Bolshevik speakers had brought against the Church and the Faith during the meeting. I had also collected the accusations that had been put forth in the Bolshevik press. I was determined to refute them and to show how groundless they were in the sermon that I was about to preach. I intended to explain and to prove the value, the importance, and the power of religious belief in social life. I had told the workers that, in place of Father Muckermann who had been arrested, I would preach to them at four o’clock Sunday afternoon at St. Casimir’s Church if that were possible, and if not, then at the Cathedral. Since the Bolsheviks were still guarding St. Casimir’s Church and would not permit anyone inside, the crowd 194 1 A young man of Lithuanian descent who was Bishop Matulaitis’s personal attendant from 1918 to 1922. He came from the famous parish of Radu< , 80 km. south of Vilnius where the Lithuanians and Poles had been battling over which language should be used in church. Andrius worked in an orphanage in Vilnius during WW I and knew his way around the city, besides being able to speak Lithuanian, Polish, Belorussian, and Russian. He met Bishop Matulaitis soon after he came to Vilnius and was invited to join his household. He also wanted to join the Marians as a brother.