George Matulaitis Journal

218 improvements. Right now, my greatest concern is to build up the seminary, to make it truly Catholic, and to sweep away the rot of all this nationalism and chauvinism. My greatest desire is that when they graduate, the seminarians leave with the heart and spirit of a true priest-apostle; that they wish to serve the people of all nations equally, like Saint Paul. I have observed that nationalistic chauvinism is a disease that afflicts the priests of this diocese and is affecting the seminary as well. March 12 At 6:30 in the evening of March 11th I gave a retreat conference to the Lithuanians at St. Nicholas Church. On March 12th at 6:30 in the morning I spoke to the Polish members of the Third Order at the Dominican Church. Then at 6:30 in the evening I spoke to the Polish servant girls at the Bernardine Church. 1 On March 12th, a Lithuanian, apparently a well-educated man and a good Catholic, came to tell me about the sad situation at the parish of Vidi kiai. 2 The pastor there is an old and slovenly man. He is not doing anything himself, nor will he let anyone else work there. During his sermons he keeps shouting: “My children, educate and improve yourselves!” Nothing, however, comes of this. The church is built of brick, but is sadly neglected: the windows are broken, and during the entire winter there is no glass in the windows. The pastor won’t put in new windows and won’t let anyone else replace them either. The doors are broken and do not shut properly, and the roof has holes in it. During the winter the people gathering in the church cannot bear the cold and so they go to neighboring parishes. I promised to investigate the matter and to do something about it as soon as I could. May God grant a change in the times and give us 1 One of the oldest churches in Vilnius, built in 1500-1513 for the Franciscan Friars of the strict obser- vance and dedicated to St. Francis and St. Bernardine, reformer and second founder of the Franciscans. Hence, the church was popularly called the Church of the Bernardines. 2 A small town near Kaunas, where in 1851 the famous Bishop Valan ius found a decayed wooden church. A new brick church was built in the neo-classical style in 1853 and dedicated by Bishop Valan ius in 1856.