George Matulaitis Journal

troops. They wanted me to participate in the festivities as well. They suggested the following order of ceremonies: first, they planned to greet the Lithuanian Commander of the Armed Forces with bread and salt; after- wards, everyone would proceed to the Cathedral. They asked me if I would agree to celebrate Mass, to address the people, and to give my blessing. From the Cathedral they would go to the Gates of Dawn. Here too, they wanted me to say the litany with the people and speak a few words. From there everyone would go to the Hill of Gediminas 1 to raise the flag. I asked that the Lithuanians not involve me in any political ceremonies or demonstrations. They should not forget that I am here in Vilnius to serve everyone, not only Lithuanians but also the Poles and the Belorussians and that, above all, I am obliged to look after whatever concerns the Church. I told them the following: 1) In my opinion, organizing the demonstration should be left to those who will actually occupy Vilnius. Who knows if there will be time for demonstrations; perhaps it may be imperative to press forward or to defend themselves. 2) If the Lithuanians do take Vilnius, it would be better if they did not imitate others by making a great hullabaloo, but rather, start to work, to organize some means of saving the people from starvation. If the Poles do not join in, demonstrations will simply antagonize them and make the work all the more difficult for the Lithuanians. 3) It is not demonstrations, but steady and serious work, establishing various institutions, taking over commerce and industry, and the like that will make Vilnius a Lithuanian city. 4) The fate of our country, and especially of Vilnius, is not yet clear and will be decided by the Paris Peace Conference. Only when things become stabilized, will what needs to be done become evident. In the meantime, as bishop I must be careful not to insult or needlessly offend any part of my flock. I cannot live for the moment, but must look to the future. What would have happened if I had 223 1 A hill rising behind the Cathedral upon which a brick tower has been restored as a reminder of the Upper Castle, which once stood there and was used by Gediminas (ca. 1275-1341), founder of Vilnius. He also founded the dynasty that ruled Lithuania until the 16th century.