Vincentas Sladkevičius

Vincentas Sladkevičius, M.I.C. (20 August 1920 – 28 May 2000) was a Lithuanian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Kaunas from 1989 to 1996, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.

His Eminence Vincentas Sladkevičius M.I.C.
Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Kaunas
See	Kaunas
Appointed	10 March 1989
Term ended	4 May 1996
Predecessor	Juozapas Skvireckas
Successor	Sigitas Tamkevičius
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella (1988-2000)
Orders
Ordination	25 March 1944 by Juozapas Skvireckas
Consecration	25 December 1957 by Teofilius Matulionis
Created cardinal	28 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name	Vincentas Sladkevičius
Born	20 August 1920 Guroniai, Lithuania
Died	May 28, 2000 (aged 79) Kaunas, Lithuania
Buried	Kaunas Cathedral Basilica
Parents	Mykolas Sladkevičius Uršule Kavaliauskaite
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Kaišiadorys (1957-82) Titular Bishop of Abora (1957-88) Apostolic Administrator of Kaišiadorys (1982-89) President of the Lithuanian Episcopal Conference (1988-93)
Motto	Fac mecum signum in bonum

Styles of Vincentas Sladkevičius
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Kaunas (emeritus)

Litas commemorative coin dedicated to Vincentas Sladkevičius

Biography

Vincentas Sladkevičius was born in Žasliai, Kaišiadorys, to Mykolas Sladkevičius and his wife Uršule Kavaliauskaite. He was the youngest of five children, his siblings being named Ona, Emilija, Jonas and Marija. After studying at the Kaunas Priest Seminary and Theological Faculty in Kaunas, Sladkevičius was ordained to the priesthood on 25 March 1944. He then did pastoral work in Kaišiadorys until 1959, including serving as a professor and the prefect of studies and discipline at the Kaunas seminary.

On 14 November 1957, Sladkevičius was appointed Auxiliary Bishop sedi datus of Kaišiadorys and Titular Bishop of Abora. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 25 December from Bishop Teofilius Matulionis. However, Bishop Sladkevičius was impeded from performing his ministry by his country's Communist government, and he took up residence at Nemunėlio Radviliškis, where he was under virtual house arrest from 1963 to 1982. He was named Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Kaišiadorys on 15 July 1982, and became President of the Lithuanian Episcopal Conference on 27 April 1988.

Pope John Paul II created Sladkevičius Cardinal Priest of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella in the consistory of 28 June 1988, and later Archbishop of Kaunas on 10 March 1989. In 1993 he entered the Congregation of the Marian Clerics of the Immaculate Conception. He resigned as Kaunas' archbishop on 4 May 1996. He was awarded the Order of Vytautas the Great in 1998.

Sladkevičius died in Kaunas, at age 79. He was buried in the Cathedral-Basilica of Kaunas following a funeral Mass there on 1 June 2000.

References

External links

• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
• Catholic-Hierarchy ^{[self-published]}