Gintaras Grušas of Los Angeles leads Catholics in the homeland!

The family of Archbishop Grušas was separated during Second World War. His mother and sister were left in Lithuania while his father escaped through Germany and migrated to the United States. After twelve years of search, the senior Grušas managed to track and unite his family. Gintaras was born in Washington, D.C. and actively participated in the activities of St. Casimir Parish in Los Angeles and Lithuanian Catholic Federation “Ateitis”. He was president of the World Lithuanian Youth Association and member of Lithuanian World Community.

He received his degree in mathematics and computer science from UCLA and worked at IBM. He studied at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and Pontifical Beda College in Rome. He also attended Pontifical Lithuanian College and finished doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. In 1992, he was ordained deacon in Vilnius and the following year, was appointed member of the Preparations Committee for Pope John Paul’s Visit to Lithuania.

On June 25, 1994, Reverend Grušas was ordained priest and on the same year, was elected as Secretary General of the Lithuanian Bishops Conference. He was consecrated bishop on September 4, 2010. Pope Francis appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius. He is currently, president of Lithuanian Bishops Conference.

“To preserve the flame of freedom in our hearts is to understand the deeper meaning of freedom, not only freedom from oppression, but also freedom to find one’s vocation and to serve God and one’s neighbor. This is especially true for our young people, who must see what different types of things limit their freedom today, as well as the responsibilities that true freedom gives us.” Archbishop Grusas on the Centenary of Lithuanian Independence.