Juozapas Skvireckas

Who was Juozapas Skvireckas?

Juozapas Skvireckas was a Lithuanian archbishop of Kaunas.

In 1911–1937 he translated the Bible into the Lithuanian language. During the occupation of the Baltic States by the Nazis, Skvireckas and his assistant, bishop Vincentas Brizgys, welcomed the Nazis. Skvireckas would provide chaplains for Lithuanian-manned Nazi auxiliary units. In later years however Skvireckas issued multiple protests to Nazi authorities regarding the conditions of the Catholic church in Lithuania. He also sent reports to Vatican and since 1942 started receiving instructions from papal office. In 1944, Skvireckas, Brizgys and over 200 other Lithuanian clergymen left Kaunas with retreating German forces, and went into exile. He would settle in Austria, where he died in 1959. After his death, the post of an bishop of Kaunas was vacant till 1989.