Kazimieras Prapuolenis (1 March 1858 – 17 April 1933) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest.
Educated at the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy, Prapuolenis worked as the secretary of the Archdiocese of Mogilev from 1889 to 1904. He was involved in the Lithuanian cultural life, helping to organize the Lithuanian and Samogitian Charitable Society, launching Lithuanian-language sermons at two churches in Saint Petersburg, and petitioning to get the Lithuanian press ban lifted. In 1904, he moved to Sejny where assisted with the establishment of a Lithuanian printing press and the Catholic periodicals Šaltinis and Vadovas. In 1909, he moved to Kaunas where he spent time on historical research and published Polskie Apostolstwo w Litwie (Polish Apostolate in Lithuania) in 1913. It was a controversial work which made him unpopular in Polish circles and the Roman Curia.
In 1912, Prapuolenis became a rector of Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi, the Polish church in Rome. At the same time, he became an unofficial Lithuanian representative in Rome. He helped organizing the Lithuanian Day (20 May 1917), an effort in Catholic churches worldwide to raise funds for the relief of war refugees in Lithuania. Prapuolenis publicized Lithuanian aspirations in the Italian press and coordinated his efforts with the Lithuanian Information Bureau established by Juozas Gabrys. In May 1921, Prapuolenis returned to Lithuania and became the head of the Department of Religions () under the Ministry of the Interior. Due to poor health, he retired in 1925 and lived as an altarista in Palanga where he died in 1933.
Biography Early life and education Prapuolenis was born on 1 March 1858 in , then part of the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland. His father worked as a manor manager, while his mother was from East Prussia.
He attended primary schools in , Pilviškiai, and before enrolling at the Marijampolė Gymnasium in 1870. There he met Vincas Kudirka, the future editor of Varpas, and , the future general.
After graduating in 1876, he continued his education at the but dropped out a year later due to "Polish ridicule of Lithuanians". He then tutored in Dłużew until he was able to enroll at the newly established in 1879. He graduated from the seminary in 1881 and chose to continue his education at the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy. After completing the third year and a thesis on Bernard of Clairvaux, he was awarded a candidate in theology. He finished his studies in March 1885 but did not take the final exams or finish his thesis on Pope Benedict XIV thus did not receive the master's degree in theology. He was ordained as a priest on 27 October 1885.
Russian Empire Saint Petersburg After graduation, Prapuolenis remained in Saint Petersburg and became chaplain of archbishop Aleksander Gintowt-Dziewałtowski. In 1889, he became secretary or chancellor of the Archdiocese of Mogilev and continued in this role under three archbishops and three administrators. Archbishop Bolesław Hieronim Kłopotowski appointed Prapuolenis as honorary canon. He was also a chaplain at various civilian and military schools, including Page Corps and Imperial School of Jurisprudence. One of his students was the future general Teodoras Daukantas who credited Prapuolenis with inspiring him to be proud of his Lithuanian identity.
Prapuolenis participated in the Lithuanian cultural life. He credited History of Lithuania in an Outline by Konstancja Skirmuntt (published in 1886) for solidifying his Lithuanian national identity. He was one of the co-founders and vice-chairmen of the Lithuanian and Samogitian Charitable Society to support Lithuanian students. He is credited with introducing Lithuanian-language sermons in Yamburg (Kingisepp), Narva, and at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in 1896) and Church of St. Catherine (in 1889) in Saint Petersburg. In 1901, Prapuolenis convinced archbishop Bolesław Hieronim Kłopotowski to pressure bishop Stefan Aleksander Zwierowicz to grant one church (Church of Saint Nicholas) in Vilnius for Lithuanian needs – something a group of Lithuanian activists pursued since 1896.
Prapuolenis was a critic of the Lithuanian press ban and worked to have it lifted. Reportedly, already in 1890, he had the administrator of the Archdiocese of Mogilev submit a letter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs requesting to lift the ban. Around 1902, Prapuolenis maintained contacts with the staff of (head of the chancery of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Konstantin Strolman (head of the Department of General Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs). According to , he and Prapuolenis raised 1,200 rubles for bribing the officials so they would support repeal of the ban. In 1903, Mogilev's liturgical calendar included several Lithuanian texts prepared by Prapuolenis. The calendar was approved by the Russian censors in error becoming one of the handful of Lithuanian text legally published during the ban.
Due to his Lithuanian activities, Prapuolenis was disliked by Polish activists. For example, , member of the Third Duma, slandered Prapuolenis in the press to the point where Prapuolenis sued for defamation. The case was taken up by Martynas Yčas. The new bishop Jerzy Józef Szembek dismissed Prapuolenis in May 1904. Prapuolenis was noted for his diplomatic skills and the good relationship with the Tsarist authorities; after his dismissal from the Archdiocese of Mogilev, he was awarded a state pension of 2,400 rubles per year and the Order of Saint Stanislaus (1st class). Due to this, Prapuolenis was labelled as a "Russian agent" by his opponents.
Sejny and Kaunas He spent the summer with Kazimierz Mikołaj Michalkiewicz in Minsk. In September 1909, he moved to the Diocese of Sejny where he was a consistory judge until 1909. As the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in early 1904, he worked on establishing a Lithuanian printing press and the Catholic periodicals Šaltinis and Vadovas. He was the editor of the first three issues of Šaltinis, and the publisher of Vadovas until 1909 (though he continued to be indicated as the official publisher). He also studied the history of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.
In 1906, Tsarist officials considered removing bishop of Vilnius Edward Ropp and nominating a Lithuanian in his place. Governor General of Vilna considered Prapuolenis and Antanas Karosas as the most politically reliable candidates.
He moved to Kaunas in July 1909 where he lived on his state pension. In his notes, Prapuolenis noted that he felt used and started not getting along with the diocese administrator . It was rumored that satirical articles about Antonowicz published in were written by Prapuolenis. In Kaunas, Prapuolenis devoted time to historical research and published Polskie Apostolstwo w Litwie, a controversial study about the negative Polish impact on Lithuanians in 1913 (see #Publications). He was also the director of bookkeeping courses established by Saulė Society in 1909.
Rome Appointment In 1908, the Diocese of Sejny organized the first larger Lithuanian pilgrimage to Rome. Priests and Vladislovas Draugelis were able to meet with cardinal José de Calasanz Vives y Tutó to explain Lithuanian aspirations. According to Adomas Jakštas, after this trip, Lithuanian clergy realized that they needed a representative in Rome. According to Martynas Yčas, the idea arose after Lithuanians were unable to present a memorandum to the pope about the discrimination of Lithuanians and Lithuanian language in churches. Lithuanian bishops could reach the Holy See through prelate Kazimierz Skirmunt (1861–1931).
According to Yčas, Lithuanian priests offered to donate money for Prapuolenis' living expenses in Rome, but he refused. The plan came to fruition in May 1912, when Prapuolenis was assigned as a rector and chaplain to Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi – the Polish church in Rome which was under the control of the Russian embassy in Rome.
Prapuolenis was appointed to Rome because his anti-Polish attitudes aligned with anti-Polish policies of the Russian Empire. Additionally, since he spoke seven languages, he could assist all Catholic nations from the Russian Empire. Reportedly, Prapuolenis was considered as replacement for Gasparas Cirtautas, bishop of Samogitia who died in September 1913.
Status While in Rome, Prapuolenis was involved in diplomacy. He aided Aleksandr Nelidov, the Russian representatives in Rome, and advocated for Lithuania becoming an unofficial Lithuanian representative. Due to his anti-Polish attitude, he did not have a good reputation in the Roman Curia, but was tolerated because he had the support of the Russian government. In nine years in Rome, Prapuolenis did not have an audience with either the pope or the Cardinal Secretary of State. Nevertheless, he was able to establish some personal contacts, for example with cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli.
During World War I, Russians looked at Poland as a potential ally against the Germans while Prapuolenis became more involved in supporting Lithuanian independence efforts. As a result, the Russian Provisional Government terminated official relations with Prapuolenis in August 1917 but continued to pay his pension. Prapuolenis continued as an unofficial Lithuanian representative until August 1919 when Lithuania appointed the official representative . According to historian Algimantas Kasparavičius, Prapuolenis was not suited for a diplomatic post because of his poor reputation in Rome, weak relations with Lithuanian bishops, overall friendliness with the Russians, and association with the controversial Juozas Gabrys.
In May 1920, despite protests by Prapuolenis, the Russian government transferred Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi to the Second Polish Republic. As a result, Prapuolenis had to leave the church and move out of the residence by July 1920. In early 1921, Pope Benedict XV did not confirm Prapuolenis' honorary title of cameriere segreto (secret chamberlain) which was granted in 1913. The Lithuanian representative Narjauskas decided to respond with a request to cardinal Pietro Gasparri to promote Prapuolenis to prelates (a much higher title than chamberlain) but was refused.
Activities Prapuolenis found the church neglected. He was able to buy new chasubles, chairs, covers for altars, etc. but was not able to do much more due to the war and the low wages (250 francs per month).
As an unofficial Lithuanian representative, Prapuolenis assisted Lithuanian visitors to Rome: he provided a place to stay, advised on proper behavior, helped write and edit various documents and letters, etc. He helped organizing the Lithuanian Day (20 May 1917), an effort in Catholic churches worldwide to raise funds for the relief of war refugees in Lithuania. He was also involved in the Lithuanian efforts to select a Lithuanian as the new bishop of Vilnius (he supported Konstantinas Olšauskas).
Prapuolenis publicized Lithuanian aspirations in the Italian press and coordinated his efforts with the Lithuanian Information Bureau established by Juozas Gabrys. Publishing in the Italian press was difficult because of the language barrier (Prapuolenis learned Italian in about three years), lack of funds and collaborators, and Polish interference. For example, due to Polish pressure, La Vera Roma was prohibited from publishing his articles in 1916. The situation improved when he received financial aid from Lithuanian Americans: in 1918, he published 116 articles in various newspapers. According to Prapuolenis, in the first eleven months of 1919, he placed 378 articles about Lithuania in 208 different Italian newspapers.
While in Rome, Prapuolenis collected archival data and old books about the Catholic Church in Lithuania. However, this material was confiscated in the Free City of Danzig on his trip back to Lithuania.
Independent Lithuania