Audrys Juozas Bačkis

Audrys Juozas Cardinal Bačkis (2008)

Cardinal coat of arms

Audrys Juozas Bačkis (born February 1, 1937 in Kaunas , Lithuania ) is Archbishop Emeritus of Vilnius .

Life

Audrys Juozas Bačkis grew up as the son of a diplomat in France . After school he studied Catholic theology and philosophy , and in 1961 for the Diocese of Kaunas for priests ordained.

After further studies, he obtained a licentiate in Catholic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome . In 1964 he joined the Vatican's diplomatic services and worked in the Philippines , Costa Rica , Nigeria and Turkey . On June 26, 1965, Pope Paul VI awarded him . the honorary title of secret chamberlain of His Holiness ( Monsignor ). On May 4, 1979, Pope John Paul II appointed him Undersecretary of the Council for Public Affairs of the Church, and on June 18 of the same year made him Honorary Prelate of His Holiness . On August 5, 1988, John Paul II appointed him Titular Archbishop of Meta and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in the Netherlands . The Pope ordained him episcopal on October 4th of the same year in St. Peter's Basilica .

In 1991 Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Vilnius. Backis was chairman of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference and heard since 21 February 2001 as a cardinal priest with the titular church of the Nativity of Nostro Signore Gesu Cristo the College of Cardinals on.

On April 5, 2013 Pope Francis accepted Audrys Juozas Bačkis' resignation due to reasons of age.

Memberships in the Roman Curia

Audrys Juozas Cardinal Bačkis is a member of the following congregations and councils of the Roman Curia :

• Congregation for Catholic Education (confirmed 2001 and 2013)
• Pontifical Council for Social Communications
• Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Goods of the Church

Honors

• Grand Officer of the Portuguese Order of Christ
• Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic , 1985
• Commander of the Norwegian Order of Merit , 1997
• Honorary doctorate, Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas , 1997
• Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas , 2000
• Grand Cross of the Vytautas Magnus Order, 2003
• Honorary Doctorate, John Paul II Pontifical University , 2003

literature

• Audrys Juozas Cardinal Backis , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 49/1992 of November 23, 1992, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Web links

Commons : Audrys Juozas Bačkis  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on Audrys Juozas Bačkis on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ AAS 71 (1979), p. 552.
2. ↑ Annuario Pontificio per l'anno 1982 , Città del Vaticano 1982, p. 1696.
3. ^ Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo di Vilnius (Lituania) e nomina del sucessore. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , April 5, 2013, accessed April 6, 2013 (Italian). 
4. ^ Nomina di Cardinali Membri delle Congregazioni Romane. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, May 15, 2001, accessed January 11, 2016 (Italian). 
5. ↑ Conferma del Prefetto e del Segretario della Congregazione per l'Educazione Cattolica e Nomine e Conferme di Membri nel Medesimo Dicastero. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 30, 2013, accessed January 20, 2016 (Italian). 

predecessor	Office	successor
Julijonas Steponavičius	Archbishop of Vilnius 1991-2013	Gintaras Grušas