In 2021, we had the honor of preparing the interior design for the church in Konin (Poland), dedicated to Blessed George Matulewicz. That part of work was the implementation of the church’s interior elements. The scope of work also included the design and creation of a sculpture of the blessed. On this occasion, we learned more about the biography of this extraordinary priest. Do You want to know, who was Blessed George Matulewicz?
Who was Blessed George Matulewicz?
George (Jerzy) Matulewicz was born on April 13, 1871, in the village of Lugine near Marijampolė, in Lithuania. He was the eighth (and youngest) child of Lithuanian farmers Urszula and Andrzej Matulaitis. When Jerzy was still a child, his parents died, so that he was raised by his older brother. In 1883, he contracted bone tuberculosis, a disease he struggled with this illness throughout his life.
George Matulewicz – Education and Work.
When George turned eight, he began attending primary school. The words “going to school” take on additional meaning in this context, because the school was located in Marijampolė, 5 km from his home. For him, it meant walking 10 km every day.
In 1889, he entered the seminary in Kielce (and he changed his surname from Matulaitis to Matulewicz). Then continued his studies in Warsaw. One of his Warsaw classmates was Henryk Przeździecki, later Bishop of Podlasie said about Matulewicz:
From the first moment we met, we were enchanted by George Matulewicz’s great intelligence, extraordinary abilities, and noble character… Quiet, calm, even-tempered, very hard-working, polite and friendly to everyone, burning with the fire of God’s love, he won our hearts. We knew he was Lithuanian. We respected his feelings, and he respected ours. In him, we loved Lithuania, and in us, we loved Poland, both of our oppressed and persecuted homelands.
In 1895, the Bishop of Kielce sent George to study at the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg, where he was ordained a priest on November 20, 1898.
Renewal of the Marian Fathers Congregation.
After taking up the chair of sociology in St. Petersburg, he developed a desire to renew the Marian Father Congregation.
The last living Marian at the time was Father Wincenty Senkus. He said: “With my death, prepare two coffins: one for me, and the other for the Congregation.”
However, God did not allow this. On August 29, 1909, Jerzy Matulewicz took his vows and then began to work on renewing the Marian Fathers Congregation.
Blessed George Matulewicz’s Social Activities
George was an excellent scholar and implementer of the Catholic social teaching (CST). During his work he recognized the problems of workers. He founded the Association of Catholic Workers in Warsaw. He worked at its headquarters, established a library, and organized training courses. Moreover he also recognized the importance of young people in the Church. This was one of the reasons why, after moving to St. Petersburg, he founded the youth organization named “Education.”
In 1915, he opened an open congregation house in Bielany (Warsaw), along with a shelter for 200 homeless children. In 1917, he took care of the educational institution for boys (The House of Labour for Boys) in Praque (Czech).
He spoke out loudly about the need to limit alcohol consumption and founded recovery groups for alcohol addiction.
Activities in the Vilnius Diocese
In 1918, the Pope appointed him Bishop of Vilnius. It was a multinational diocese, which is why Matulewicz often said:
I am a Catholic bishop and I want to serve everyone equally and I will care equally for the needs of all my people. For me, all are equal, whether Belarusians, Poles, or Lithuanians.
Later, he was appointed Apostolic Visitor to Lithuania. In December 1926, a coup d’état occurred in the Republic of Lithuania. The new authorities approached the Visitor with a proposal to conclude a concordat. Matulewicz immediately began to work on the draft document. He completed his work on January 20, 1927, but the concordat documents was signed after his death.
Blessed Jerzy Matulewicz – Death and Beatification.
Father George Matulewicz died on January 27, 1927, and in 1987, during the celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the Baptism of Lithuania, he was beatified by St. John Paul II. His relics rest in the church in Marijampolė. He is one of the patron saints of Lithuania.
Invitation
We cordially invite you to visit the church of Blessed Jerzy Matulewicz in Konin. We hope that the interior of this church will be a place of reflection for all who visit. May the words that begin the blessed’s “Spiritual Diary” also inspire future visitors:
My motto is: to look for God in all things, to do all things for the greater glory of God, to bring God’s spirit into all things, to imbue all things with God’s spirit. May God and His glory be the center of my entire life, the axis around which all my thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions revolve.
Summary and Bibliography:
While working on this article, we used many materials, including Tadeusz Górski’s study “The New Blessed Archbishop Jerzy Matulewicz (1871-1927)” Kieleckie Studia Teologiczne 4, 55-74, 2005, and the following materials:
https://matulaitis.weebly.com/my347li-b322-jerzego-matulewicza-o-380yciu-duchowym.html?https://brewiarz.pl/czytelnia/swieci/01-27a.php3
https://www.spm.org.pl/nws/patron-na-dziejsze-czasy-bl-jerzy-matulewicz
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