Pope Francis will visit the three Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—from Sept. 22 until Sept. 25, as they celebrate the centenary of their declaration of independence from Russia in 1918. His visit comes during a time of peace, but a time not devoid of a certain anxiety.
In a video message to the seven million inhabitants of all three countries on the eve of his visit, Pope Francis told them, “Though I come as pastor of the Catholic Church, I would like to embrace everyone and offer a message of peace, good will and hope for the future.”
He is the second pope to visit these Baltic nations. John Paul II came to the region in September 1993, after the collapse of communism, and was welcomed as a hero. Pope Francis comes exactly 25 years later, but much has changed since that first papal visit.
Pope Francis comes exactly 25 years after Pope John Paul II, but much has changed since that first papal visit.
He comes at the invitation of the authorities of all three states to help celebrate their independence, a senior Vatican official told America. He also comes at the request of the Catholic bishops of these states on the periphery of European Union. His visit will be closely watched by Russia.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia experienced domination by Russia for much of the last two centuries and the violence of Nazi Germany in the 1940s. In 1991, they regained independence as the Soviet Union broke apart, and all three joined both NATO and the European Union in 2004. The Baltic nations now look to NATO and the European Union for protection from the Russian Federation.
These states feel threatened by Russia not just because of their collective history but also because they watched it invade and then annex the Crimea in May 2014, and they wonder if history could repeat itself. They consider Pope Francis’ visit to be an important gesture of reassurance.
Francis told them that his visit intends to honor “all those whose past sacrifices have made our present freedoms possible,” and he emphasized that “freedom, as we know, is a treasure that must be constantly preserved and handed down, as a precious legacy, to future generations.”
He reminded them that “solidarity and service for the common good are more important now than ever” and said he hoped that his visit would be “a source of encouragement” to all those people of good will, “who, inspired by the deepest spiritual and cultural values inherited from the past, are working peacefully to alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters in need and to promote unity and harmony at every level of society.”
The pope's visit intends to honor “all those whose past sacrifices have made our present freedoms possible.”
Pope Francis will make the three-hour flight from Rome to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on the morning of Sept. 22, accompanied by the cardinal secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, and some 70 media personnel, including the new prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery (Department) for Communications, Paolo Ruffini.
Vilnius, a city of half-a-million people, will serve as the base for his visits to all three countries; he will spend each night at the nunciature there. He will travel from there to Kaunas, the second city in Lithuania on Sept. 23; to Riga, the capital of Latvia, on Sept. 24;, and to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on Sept. 25, from whence he will return to Rome. During his visit he will deliver 15 talks (including homilies): seven in Lithuania, four in Latvia and four in Estonia.
Pope Francis will spend the first two days in Lithuania, the largest and most southerly of the Baltic states, 80 percent of whose population of 3.2 million people is Catholic. The country, which was converted to Catholicism in 1387, borders Russia, Poland, Belarus and Latvia. It was under Russian rule for much of the time since the 18th century and occupied by Germany during World War I. It declared independence in 1918.
When Pope John Paul II came soon after the country regained independence, he spoke to the Lithuanians about “the problems and the situation of 25 years ago coming out of communism,” the archbishop of Vilnius, Gintaras Grušas, told Vatican Media. But, he said, when Francis comes this time, “we are waiting for his words to address our current situation to bring hope and insight” and “hopefully to ‘infect’ us with his joy and his hope.”
Archbishop Grušas noted that Pope Francis will visit countries “where the people have suffered, where the church has suffered, and where the faithful have learned the importance of prayer and recovery: the last 25 years have been a recovery for our church from the wounds it has experienced.”
Archbishop Grušas noted that Pope Francis will visit countries “where the people have suffered, where the church has suffered, and where the faithful have learned the importance of prayer and recovery
Pope Francis will visit the former K.G.B. prison (two cells and the place of execution) and the Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Vilnius—which, the archbishop said, “are signs of great wounds in the body of Christ that we have experienced in the past hundred years.”
Vilnius, historically the first settlement of the Baltic tribes, was first referred to as a city in 1323. It became a cosmopolitan center that is made up of Lithuanians, Belarusians, Jews, Russians, Germans and Ruthenians. Between 1503 and 1522 Vilnius was surrounded by a wall with nine gates, only one of which still exists—the Gate of Dawn. In the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn is the widely venerated image of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy.
The Russians sacked Vilnius in 1655 and massacred its population, but it rose again and by the beginning of the 19th century it was the third most populous city in Eastern Europe. Vilnius was annexed by Russia in 1795. Napoleon captured the city in 1812, but the Russians regained it again and suppressed attempts at revolt in the following century. The Germans occupied it from 1915 to 1918, after which the country declared independence, but the Russians returned in 1920 and it was first annexed to Poland and then to Russia in 1939.
The Soviet army invaded Lithuania in 1940 and subsequently deported thousands of Lithuanians to Siberia.
Nazi Germany conquered the city in June 1941 and created two ghettos for the 60,000 Jews living there. That October the Nazis killed or deported the inhabitants of the smaller ghetto, and in September 1943 they destroyed the second one.
Overall about 95 percent of the Jewish population was killed, while the other 30,000 victims of Nazi terror in Lithuania were mainly Polish prisoners of war, members of the resistance and intellectuals. The Soviets returned in 1944 and further deportations and repression followed. Lithuania regained its independence in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Lithuania’s first woman president, Dalia Grybauskaite, known as “the iron lady” because she has stood up to the Russians, will welcome Pope Francis on his arrival at Vilnius Airport. He will ride to the presidential palace and address government officials, local leaders and members of the diplomatic corps. That afternoon, he will visit the Marian shrine at the Gate of Dawn and pray before the Byzantine-style image, which dates back to 1620.
Pope Francis will next visit the city’s cathedral. Dedicated to Saints Stanislaus and Ladislaus, its origins trace back to the mid-13th century.
The Soviet army invaded Lithuania in 1940 and subsequently deported thousands of Lithuanians to Siberia.
On Sunday, Sept. 23, Pope Francis will travel 62 miles from Vilnius to Kaunas, the country’s second-largest city, to celebrate Mass in its Santakos Park. Kaunas, whose origins date back to before 1400, is the historical center of Lithuanian economic, academic and cultural life.
Francis will take lunch with the bishops in Kaunas, then meet the priests, women and men religious, and seminarians in the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Kaunas.
On his return to Vilnius by car, he will stop to pray at the monument of the Vilnius Ghetto and visit the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. That evening, he will have a private meeting with the Jesuits from Lithuania and Latvia (there are no Jesuits in Estonia).
Early Monday, Sept. 24, Francis will make the one-hour flight from Vilnius to Riga, capital of Latvia, for a daylong visit.
Latvia, in northeastern Europe, has a coastline along the Baltic Sea. It borders Estonia (with which it has historical and religious ties), Russia, Belarus and Lithuania (with which it has linguistic links). It was under Russian rule in the 1800s but won independence after World War I. However, Soviet troops occupied Latvia in 1940 and Nazi Germany invaded it in 1941. Some 70,000 Latvian Jews were killed under the Nazis. The Soviets returned in 1944 and conducted mass deportations and repressed all resistance. Latvia regained independence in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union.
Today, more than 25 percent of its population of 2.2 million is Russian-speaking and the target of Russian propaganda—a cause of concern for the authorities. Most Latvians are Christian Evangelicals (Lutheran), but Catholics account for 21 percent of the population. Life in this country has changed much since Pope John Paul II’s visit. More than 80 percent of Latvians were on the internet by 2015.
Upon arrival at Riga Airport, Francis will be welcomed by Raimonds Vejonis, formerly the defense minister, who was elected president because he was considered one who could deal with the political and military tensions with Russia. The pope will then ride to the presidential palace, whose origins date back to the 1300s, and address government authorities, local leaders and the diplomatic corps.
Afterward, he will place flowers at the Freedom Monument. Under Soviet occupation people brought flowers here as expressions of desire for freedom and independence.
Its people revolted in what was known as “the Singing Revolution” in 1988, and three years later Estonia regained independence.
From the monument he will go to the Lutheran cathedral, whose origins date back to 1200, for an ecumenical prayer service, and then visit the Catholic cathedral of St. James. In 1522, during the Protestant Reformation, the building became the second German-language Lutheran church in Riga, but it was turned over to the Jesuits in 1582 by the king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania. After 40 years it went back to the Lutherans and only returned to the Catholic church in 1923.
He will pray there before going for lunch with the country’s Catholic bishops.
In the afternoon, he will fly by helicopter to the Shrine of Black Madonna of Aglona, the country’s most important Marian shrine, where he will celebrate Mass. The image, said to have been painted by St. Luke, was brought here in 1401 by the grand duke of Latvia. The motto for his visit to Latvia is a picture of the Madonna with the words, “Show yourself to be mother.” After Mass, the pope returns to Vilnius.
On his last day in the Baltics, Pope Francis will fly from Vilnius to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, the most northerly of the Baltic states. The country has borders with Russia and Latvia and linguistic ties with Finland. Ruled at various times by Denmark, the German Knights of the Livonian Order and Sweden, it became part of the Russian empire in the 1800s. It gained independence in 1918, but Soviet troops invaded in 1940, and Nazi Germany did likewise the following year.
Russia re-annexed it in 1944 and deported tens of thousands of people to Siberia and Central Asia. Its people revolted in what was known as “the Singing Revolution” in 1988, and three years later Estonia regained independence.
“Wake up my heart”—the words of a popular Estonian song—is the motto for the pope’s visit to Estonia. Seventy-five percent of its 1.3 million people describe themselves as “non-religious”; 13 percent are Lutheran; 12 percent are Orthodox; and 0.5 percent are Catholic.
This tiny Catholic community is drawing inspiration from its Jesuit martyr bishop, Eduard Profittlich, who was born in Germany in 1890 and went as a missionary to Estonia, where Catholicism had been outlawed from 1561 until 1719. He became archbishop and decided to remain in Tallinn when the Soviets invaded. Marge-Marie Paas, the postulator for his cause, told Vatican Media that they arrested him on June 27, 1941, and deported him to a gulag in Siberia where in the cold and hard prison of Kirov he died a martyr on Feb. 22, 1942.
Pope Francis will make a brief stop at St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral and pray before a memorial plaque in his honor. The dossier for his canonization will be sent to Rome in the coming year. He would be the first saint of the Estonian Catholic Church.
This is Francis’ 25th foreign trip, and when it ends he will have visited 39 countries as pope.
