Military Ordinariate of Lithuania

Military Ordinariate of Lithuania Lietuvos kariuomenes ordinariatas
Location
Country	Lithuania
Coordinates	54°40′56″N 25°16′58″E
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	25 November 2000 (24 years ago)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Vacant (Sede vacante)

The Military Ordinariate of Lithuania (Lithuanian language: Lietuvos kariuomenes ordinariatas ) is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and their families.

History

The military ordinariate was established by Pope John Paul II on 25 November 2000.

Military ordinaries

• Eugenijus Bartulis (appointed 25 November 2000 - resigned 19 June 2010)
• Gintaras Grusas (appointed 19 June 2010 - named Archbishop of Vilnius 5 April 2013) Bishop Grusas, 51 (born 1961), was originally a technological consultant for marketing at IBM and was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Los Angeles. He studied for the priesthood beginning at 28, first at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, then in 1990 (when the Pope visited his college) in Rome, at the Pontifical Beda College. After that he studied at the Pontifical Lithuanian College and then the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum. He was ordained a priest in 1994 for the Archdiocese of Vilnius. He was named Archbishop-elect of Vilnius by Pope Francis on 5 April 2013.

References

• Military Ordinariate of Lithuania (Catholic-Hierarchy)
• Lietuvos kariuomenės ordinariatas (GCatholic.org)
• Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Lithuania (Vatican website)