Catholic Women aid Lithuanians in Poland

In 1981 the Adelaide Lithuanian Catholic Women society contacted the United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America (Bendras Amerikos Lietuvių Fondas A Šalpos)  (BALFAS).  The society had decided that it would like to outreach to Lithuanians in the Suvalkija triangle.  Suwałki Region is a small region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. The territory was disputed between Poland and Lithuania after World War II.

A Stepenienė from Adelaide knew that BALFAS had connections with that area and asked for families to contact.  BALFAS had for many years had been providing aid, mainly in the form of clothes.  Each month they sent 40-50 parcels of good clothes and food.

The letters written in Lithuanian usually gave an outline of the dire straits families were living in.  No specific requests were made, just asking for assistance.  In that year the society received about 32 letters, to which all were responded to.  The women collected clothing items, sorted into packages based on what was mentioned in the letters.  Clothing, shoes, coats, jumpers, ties and children’s clothes were packaged some up to 18 kg and posted.

The United Lithuanian Relief Fund of America has been able to assist thousands of Lithuanian refugees in Europe and elsewhere with some much needed food, clothing, and medicine. Significant aid and clothing contributions came from the Catholic hierarchy. The rest came mainly as personal donations from thousands of Lithuanians in numerous parishes, Clubs, and societies throughout the United States.

 

Reference

http://www.lituanus.org/1956/56_3_06Boley.html

Four days at youth camp

In October 1963, 45 young men and women aged between 14 and 22 gathered at O’Sullivan’s Beach for a camp.  The camp was organised by the Catholic Association.

The camp was an opportunity for Adelaide youth to develop and strengthen their character.  The camp program was organised to include something new and interesting all the time.  There were discussions and debates to broaden ones thoughts.  Sport, games, excursions, singing, the evenings around a camp fire and being so close to the beach, swimming.

The main benefit of the four days was for the youth to feel like real Lithuanians, not just in language but in thought.  One questions raised for thought and discussion was ‘is it worth being a Lithuanian in Australia?’  Discussion was lively and of course got of tract.  There was much discussion over ‘young’ and ‘old’ and how each views the other. 

The write up about the camp for the newspaper was written by a parent at the camp, who was impressed with the maturity of the participants.

 

Adelaide National Dancing group goes to Port Lincoln

In 1964, the Adelaide Lithuanian National Dancing group travelled to the tuna capital of Australia, Port Lincoln. January 24 – 27^th 1964, the annual Tuna festival was held, attracting tourists from all ends of Australia and even around the globe.  The dancing group was invited to the festival led by Bronė Lapšienė.  Friday evening, 28 dancers where chaperoned by Bronė and Vytautas Vosylius aboard a bus that would take them 400 miles from Adelaide. 

Although they were tired, not having slept much during the night bus ride the dancers gave an excellent performance at the festival.  The public were spellbound, the two performances were did not satisfy them.  The group preformed another time on the Sunday evening.

Before every dance, student Antanas Stepanas would broadcast over the microphone a brief introduction to Lithuania, its people, culture, customs, songs and described the dance to be seen.   Antanas then introduced each dancer by name.  During the break, Germanaitė gave a lovely solo recital on the accordion.

The dancers were accommodated in a private home before boarding the bus once again for the long journey home.  The bus driver was able to show some of the highlights of the local area before departing the sea side town.

Record launch for Vaskas

On 3 August 1969, at the St Casimir church hall, Genovaitė launched her USA produced record. It was the first record launch for the Adelaide Lithuanian community and 120 people attended.  The table were beautiful laid with tablecloths on which was placed hot tea and coffee and cake.  On a long table to the side of the hall a table was used to display Genė’s programs from her concerts, over 100. If one was to place programs from every appearance of the singer in the last 20 years, there would be several hundred on display. 

The evening began with J. Stepanas saying a few words.  A congratulatory telegram was then read, sent by Australian Community President Narušys.  Adelaide Lithuanian Cultural committee president Petkunienė also spoke.   Pranas Pusdešris also spoke of Genė’s talents and read several comments made after several of her performances. 

The record has eleven songs, of which three were recorded live.  The men’s octet Klajunai sang a cheer for their director. 

Genė sang two songs on the evening.

 MP 1969 rugp 19.

Seeking a Lithuanian Church in Adelaide

In 1960 Lithuanian Catholics signed a petition in the attempt to establish a Lithuanian language Catholic Church.  Here is the petition;

To His Excellency, the Most Reverend Apostolic Delegate to Australia, New Zealand and Oceania

Petition of Lithuanian Catholics of Adelaide, South Australia

Your Excellency,

Four thousand years ago the Holy Family fled to Egypt in order to avoid persecutions.  Almost twenty years ago many thousands sons and daughters of our small nation withdrew to the West seeking rescue and refuge from the Antichrist slavery of red Mascovian Herodes and were dispersed throughout the continent of our planet.  A part of those who remained in their homeland is scattered in the slave labour camps of Siberia.
A written prayer book in the hand of Lithuanian girls has now reached the Free World coming from one of these Siberian slave camps.  In the Evening Prayers thanking God for the favours He has bestowed on them this day they also expressed their gratitude to Him for being given the change to pray in their native language.  This natural sentiment is with every one of us wherever we should happen to be irrespective of the country in which we are living, and in spite of all social and political conditions we happen to find.
And yet the main motive of this petition is not sentiment.  We Lithuanians who happen to have come to Australia are not entirely voluntary migrants.  Every one of us has the ardent wish to attain salvation of his soul.  We are concerned about the faring of our brethren with whom we share the same fate; we are worried about our families.  Our way of life is deeply rooted in the The Roman Catholic traditions of our nation which are to be traced back over more than five hundred years; they permeate not only our daily life, but our Church activities as well.  As it is our sincere wish to participate accordingly in this country’s life of the Roman Catholic Church, we humbly ask for permission to establish here our Lithuanian Personal Roman Catholic Parish.

At a time when our religion and nation are being destroyed by the scourge of anti religious Communism, we cannot look on calmly how our brethren are declining in their religion here in this free Australia of ours were Catholics are in the minority and where the anti-Catholic environment is creating many dangers to the religion and the moral even of grown up people.  The influence of that environment is felt even more amongst the youth we have lost a part of it for Church already.  It is our deepest conviction that only by the activities of a Personal Roman Catholic Parish for Lithuanians an approach to the young generations will be found, and only thus will they be won again for the Church alike the lost drachma of the woman in the Gospel.

In our attempts to establish the reasons of religious indifference and in anxious anticipation of the future we do compare our own Catholic way of life with that of our emigrants and refuges in other countries, especially the USA.  In the United States of America, Lithuanians constitute an imposing group in the Roman Catholic Church of that Country with several thousand vocations for priesthood, their own Catholic schools, hospitals, old age homes and even monasteries.

None of these were to be found in Canada and throughout the whole of South America before 1949, although impressive numbers of Lithuanians are living in these countries, except Sao Paulo where Lithuanians have their parish with two priests and nuns, also Lithuanians, of the Order of St Francis.  We humbly take the liberty here of drawing Your attention to the fact that from this place, and from here only – throughout the entire Spanish America – there are tens of vocations.

If the vast majority of the Lithuanians in the USA remained faithful members of our Roman Catholic Church, and if in the other countries mentioned above only a small part of our old immigrants remained with the Catholic Church, then the answer is to be sought not in numbers, but in the fact that in the USA, Lithuanians have their own parishes for at least 60 years already, and that such do not exist in other countries.  With these facts in mind the Lithuanian refugees in Canada have sought and have been granted the opportunity of establishing personal parishes during the last decade.
Being deeply concerned with the growing religious indifference amongst Lithuanians in Australia who missing Lithuanian traditions in the local churches, and not having the opportunity to hear their own language, begin to withdraw from the Church; and missing the active participation of our United States Lithuanian brethren in the mission initiated by Christ and attending to the Christian duties enjoined on us by God of seeing our children’s and our own salvation, we honestly think that only in Lithuanians, our own, Roman Catholic Parish we shall see religious revival become reality.

The present humble petitioners, the Roman Catholic Lithuanians of Adelaide, South Australia, we, neither do ask for financial assistance, nor do we raise claims on churches built by others.  We have enough land for a church and we are in the position of carrying out the erection.  We have a spacious house for temporary chapel and the priest to live – and ample accommodation at the disposal of the future parish.

There are about 1500 Lithuanians in Adelaide now.  500 of them, mostly representing the families, have signed this present petition for the Personal Parish.  Others will join as soon as the practical work of establishing the Parish will commence, when this humble petition of ours will be granted.  Without our own Parish we shall perish for the Church, and this will be not entirely our fault.

We do believe deeply and sincerely that this humble petition of ours will be considered and understood and blessed by You, by the Apostolic See and by God.  Here also we express our spiritual loyalty and allegiance to the Holy See.

On behalf of all petitioners;

J. Bardauskas – for Lithuanian “Caritas’
J. Vaskas – for Lithuanian Cath. Organisation “Ateitis”
A. Stepanienė – for Lithuanian Cath Women’s Committee
B. Dičiūnas – for Auxiliary Committee to Fr. J. Kungys
L. Gerulaitis – Hon Secretary, 68 Cumming St, Mile End
 
Copies of this petition are sent to;
1. His Eminence Cardinal Marcello MIMMI, Secretary of Sacred Consistorial Congregation.  N.B with the list of 500 petitioners
2. His Eminence Cardinal Gregory Peter XV AGAGIANIAN, ProPrefect of Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
3. To the Apostolic Delegate in Sydney
4. To the Archbishop of Adelaide

Adelaide, the 9th of January, 1960

Following is 480 Names, addresses and signatures