Kazimieras PRAPUOLENIS
(1858-1933), Roman Catholic priest, recipient of the Orders of
Gediminas and of Vytautas the Great, born in Lauckaimis, county of
Sakiai, on March 1, 1858. He studied at the Theological Seminaries of
Warsaw and St. Petersburg and took his candidate's degree in theology
(1885) at the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg. While working
there as secretary of the metropolitan curia, he succeeded in
introducing Lithuanian-language sermons and hymns at St. Petersburg
Cathedral; through his efforts and the influence of Archbishop
Klopotowski, St. Nicholas Church in Vilnius was assigned for use to
the Lithuanian community; he was one of the founders of the first
Lithuanian society in St. Petersburg (1892). He used his contacts
among Russian intellectuals and government circles to agitate in favor
of abolishing the ban on Lithuanian-language publications in force
since 1864, demonstrating that it was based on an illegal
administrative decree; the case was brought before the Supreme Court,
whose ruling resulted in the ban's repeal in 1904. That same year he
was dismissed from his duties as secretary. Thereupon he took up
residence at Seinai, southern Lithuania, where, with Rev. Juozas
Laukaitis as his partner, he founded the weekly Šaltinis (The
Source, 1906) and the monthly Vadovas (The Guide, 1908) for
priests. In his numerous articles for Lithuanian and foreign (Italian,
German) periodicals, he frequently discussed Lithuanian-Polish
relations and criticized the methodic Polonization practiced in
Lithuania. Some of these articles were published as a separate
pamphlet entitled Ze stosunkow litewsko-polskich (Some Aspects
of Lithuanian-Polish Relations, 1907). His partially completed
historical survey of Lithuanian sermons (Katalikiškoji lietuvių
pamokslija) was published in Vadovas (1908-09). While
living in Kaunas, he thoroughly researched Polonization practices
prevalent in the Church and published his findings under the title Polskie
apostolstwo na Litwie (The Polish Apostleship in Lithuania, 1913).
Written in Polish in a journalistic style, the work appeared in a
Lithuanian translation in 1918 and 1928, and in a French translation
in 1916. In 1912 Martynas Yeas, member of the Russian parliament
(Duma), obtained for him the office of rector of St. Stanislas' Church
at Rome, which belonged to the Russian embassy. During the eight years
that he held this post, his office was a focal point for Lithuanian
priests studying in Rome as well as for visiting Lithuanians.
Following the restoration of independent Lithuania (1918), he served
for a time as his country's unofficial representative at the Vatican.
On his return to Lithuania in 1921, he was charged with organizing a
department for religious affairs and was its director for almost five
years. He resigned for reasons of health in 1925 and settled in
Palanga, where he died on April 17, 1933.
Bibl.: A. Dambrauskas-Jakštas, Užgesę
Žiburiai, Kaunas, 1930: A. Dubinskas, "Kazimiero Prapuolenio
nuopelnai savają spaudą atgaunant." Lietuvos Aidas, No.
166, 1933 (Kaunas); B. Prapuolenis, "Atsiminimai apie Kazimiera
Prapuoleni," Draugas, No. 126, 1953 (Chicago).
- Text from the ENCYCLOPEDIA LITUANICA
I-VI. Boston, 1970-1978
