Church in Europe
The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference has set up a Committee in charge of the preparations for the visit that Pope Francis will make to Lithuania and the Baltic States in September. According to the Lithuanian information service, the Pope will be in Vilnius and Kaunas on 22-23 September, but a detailed programme has not yet been defined. The Bishops’ website reports that Dominican Brother Saulius Rumša, who for the occasion has been relieved of his duties as deputy secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference, will be the “secretary general” of the Committee; and Father Kestutis Palikšas, chancellor of the Diocese of Vilnius, will have the task of coordinating the liturgical ceremonies of the Papal visit. Zivilė Peluritienė, head of communications at the Archdiocese of Vilnius, was given the task of coordinating information. “Pope Francis strengthens the faith and brings hope to all the countries that he visits”, the Archbishop of Vilnius, Gintaras Grusas, said in a short video in English posted on the Facebook profile of the Archdiocese immediately after the official announcement of the Pope’s visit was made in Rome on Friday, 9 March. In the video, Mgr. Grusas invited everyone to “pray for the success of Pope Francis’ visit that he may strengthen us and share the beauty of our country with the world”.
