“The rich testimony of the life and writings of St. Augustine is still of great relevance for contemporary society”, said the archbishop of Vilnius, Cardinal Audrys Backis, on inaugurating the recent international congress dedicated to the great bishop of Hippo and Doctor of the Church on the occasion of the 1650th anniversary of his death. Promoted in Vilnius by the archdiocese, the local university, the university of Freiburg, the Swiss Consulate General and the French Cultural Centre in the Lithuanian capital, the congress was preceded by an exhibition in the city museum on “St. Augustine in Lithuania”. On display were various publications in Latin of the writings of the Saints dating from the 15th and later centuries, and images of the Saint from national archives and libraries, demonstrating “the link between Christianity, Lithuania and European countries”, continued the archbishop of Vilnius. “St Augustine grew up in a climate of scarce Christian devotion,” added Cardinal Backis, referring “to the similar situation of many families in Lithuania today. The pastoral zeal of the bishop saint is admirable and sets a great example for us too. He was able, in his ministry, to reconcile the most important questions and, at the same time, those apparently less significant within the Church”.
