George Matulaitis Journal

1925 The Journal breaks off abruptly after April 2, 1921, and is resumed four years later. The last few entries are written in Rome in the summer of 1925 after Bishop Matulaitis had submitted his resignation from the Diocese of Vilnius to Pope Pius XI. Having received confirmation from Rome that his resignation was accepted, he left Vilnius in mid-July and travelled via Bielany in Warsaw to Ciechocinek, Poland, for a short vacation accompanied by Fr. Jan Sobczyk. While in Ciechocinek, he received an invitation to see the Apostolic Nuncio. He left Ciechocinek and went to Warsaw on the 31st of July. During a short stop in Warsaw, he informed the Cathedral Chapter of Vilnius that he would not be coming back and also sent some farewell notes to his personal friends and aides. He left Warsaw to go to Rome on August 3, 1925. Matulaitis was going to Rome with the idea of staying permanently, founding a house of studies for the Marians as well as transferring the Marian generalate there. On arrival, he records his movements over a three-week period. The Journal stops on the eve of his elevation to titular Archbishop of Aduli, which occurred on September 1. On December 7, 1925 he was appointed apostolic visitator to Lithuania. Later on in December, Matulaitis returned to Lithuania, making no further entries in the Journal. August 5 I arrived in Rome just after 12. I am staying with the Resurrectionist Fathers at S. Sebastianello 11. They welcomed me very warmly. I also found Archbishop Cieplak 1 here. I decided to stay with the Poles so they would not think I am angry with them or do not want to have anything more to do with them. As yet, no one here knows that I have already been released from 331 1 Jan Cieplak (1857-1926): was known to Matulaitis as a professor at the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg. He had been Archbishop of Mogiliev since 1914. In Dec. of 1925 he was appointed Archbishop of Vilnius; he died in 1926, while visiting the Polish Catholics in the United States.