Your Esteemed Eminence, a wave of joy and thanksgiving to God rushed over our homeland, Lithuania, when we learned of your elevation and appointment as cardinal. For twenty-four years, we saw you patiently bearing the exile's lot. We watched and wondered at the work of God within you, and through you.
We have witnessed with what devotion you labored in the tiny parish of Nemunėlio Radviliškis, on the very border of Latvia, and in the parish of Paberžė, you used to plan the solemn liturgical celebration of holy days; you used to explain the word of God, solemnly, sincerely, and sensitively, just as you explain it solemnly and sincerely today to crowds of the faithful in the thousands. Your humility, simplicity, and your ascetical mode of life, has ornamented and continue to ornament your person, and force more than one of us to think and reassess our chosen values.
Understanding well that your new responsibilities are very serious and difficult, we resolve to support you by prayer and sacrifice, and in the first place, by loyalty and obedience. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we pray the Most High that you would always be supported by the Divine Spirit of steadfastness, understanding and wisdom.
With respect and love, The Catholic of Lithuania
