Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vilnius - Statistics

Statistics

In the early 20th century the Roman Catholic diocese of Vilnius had 1,420,000 faithful distributed among 23 rural deaneries as follows: Białystok, 20 parishes and stations, 101,761 souls; Bielsk, 20 parishes, 66,125 souls; Brest, 3 parishes, 14212 souls; Dzisna, 15 parishes, 66,536 souls; Giedraičiai, 13 parishes, 58,813 souls; Grodno, 20 parishes, 58,116 souls; Kobryn, 2 parishes, 7925 souls; Lida, 14 parishes, 65,100 souls; Merkinė, 20 parishes, 82,948 souls; Nadwilejski, 8 parishes; 41,053 souls; Oszmiana, 11 parishes, 61,032 souls; Prwjany, 7 parishes, 11,648 souls; Radun, 15 parishes, 83,451 souls; Slonim, 7 parishes; 30,337 souls; Sokółka, 14 parishes, 75,709 souls; Švenčionys, 19 parishes, 93,716 souls; Swir, 11 parishes, 48,266 souls; Trakai, 20 parishes, 88,856 souls; Vilna (city), 30 churches and chapels, 141,104 souls; Vilnius itself (district), 9 parishes, 52,690 souls; Vilejka, 10 parishes, 35,783 souls; Wisniew, 15 parishes, 83,900 souls; Wolkowysk, 16 parishes, 58,825 souls. Besides the cathedral parish the city of Vilnius contains those of St. John Baptist, the Holy Spirit, St Teresa, Saints Philip and James, St. Raphael the Archangel, St. Francis of Assisi, All Saints, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The Catholic population of the city was only 96,000 souls. Dependent upon the parish of St. Teresa is the chapel of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Ostrobrama, the centre of many pilgrimages in Lithuania, and venerated also by the Orthodox; its miraculous image stands upon an arch, and the street which passes under this arch is occupied at all hours of the day by a crowd of prostrate suppliants; anyone passing under the arch – even Hebrews – traditionally uncovers the head in token of reverence.

The secular clergy numbered about 440 priests; the cathedral chapter 5 prelates and 3 canons. The secular clergy are educated in the seminary, which has 15 professors and 160 students when founded in 1582, closed in 1862; reopened in 1872, and had but two students, but their number gradually increased. At Brest there was a petit seminaire, which was closed in 1830; the seminary at Białystok was closed in 1842. The clergy always exerted a beneficial influence upon popular education. At the beginning of the nineteenth century twenty-five parochial elementary schools were in operation at Vilnius; schools and colleges were conducted by the Jesuits, Uniat Basilians, Piarists and other religious orders. The monastic libraries were centres of culture; as late as the seventeenth century there were 101 monasteries in Lithuania. The library of the Missionaries of Vilnius contained 8284 volumes; that of the Piarists, 7000; that of the Bernardines, 4142. The University of Vilnius possessed 20,000 volumes of theology, part of which were given to the Catholic Theological Academy of St. Petersburg, to the University of Kiev (Ukraine) and to the Public Library of Vilnius.

In consequence of the fierce persecution stirred up against Catholicism, the scientific fame of the Diocese of Vilnius became obscured; but Catholicism remained firmly rooted in the hearts of the people. Vilna was perhaps the most devout city in the Russian Empire, despite the paucity of secular clergy and the complete lack of religious orders rendering it difficult for the people to fulfil their religious duties. Yet the bitter quarrels between the Polish and Lithuanian Nationalists led to divisions in the Catholic camp. The Lithuanian clergy that in all the churches of the diocese Lithuanian shall be equally considered with Polish in religious instruction and in supplementary devotions; a portion of the Polish clergy opposed these claims but wise measures taken by the ecclesiastical authorities allayed the animosity, and opportune concessions to the Lithuanians have, at least in appearance, removed the causes of discord. Vilnius region has a large Polish minority (26% of Vilnius county population) . Polish activists from Association of Poles in Lithuania and Association "Polish Community" claim there are conflicts between Lithuanian clergy and the Poles.