Archbishop of Vilnius
Born September 23, 1961; ordained a priest June 25, 1994; ordained a bishop September 4, 2010; appointed Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius April 5, 2013. He was born on September 23, 1961, in Washington, D.C., USA. Growing up in a Lithuanian family, he became involved in the national and Catholic activities of the diaspora. He actively participated in the life of St. Casimir’s Lithuanian Parish in Los Angeles and the activities of the Ateitininkai Federation; from 1983 to 1987, he served as chairman of the World Lithuanian Youth Association and as a board member of the World Lithuanian Community. Before entering the seminary, he completed studies in mathematics and computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and worked for the IBM Corporation. He began his spiritual studies at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He went to Rome for further seminary studies—after two years at the Pontifical Beda College, he was ordained a deacon in Vilnius in 1992 and appointed General Secretary of the committee for Pope John Paul II’s apostolic visit to Lithuania. Upon returning to Rome, he continued his studies while residing at the Pontifical Lithuanian College of St. Casimir and earned a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. On June 25, 1994, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop A. J. Bačkis in the Vilnius Archcathedral. That same year, he was elected General Secretary of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference. In 1997, he returned to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical... ...at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where he obtained a doctorate in canon law in 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Rector of the St. Joseph Seminary in Vilnius. From 2002 to 2013, he held the position of General Secretary of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference. For many years, Msgr. G. Grušas was a member and consultant of the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Vilnius. He chaired the commission preparing the Lithuanian edition of the Code of Canon Law. Since 2006, he has served as the Spiritual Leader of the Ateitininkai Federation. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Pontifical Lithuanian College of St. Casimir and Chairman of the Board of the publishing house *Katalikų pasaulio leidiniai*. He also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the expatriate organization Lithuanian Catholic Religious Aid. In 2003, Gintaras Grušas was granted the title of Chaplain to His Holiness—Monsignor. In addition to his native Lithuanian, he speaks English, Italian, and French. On July 2, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Gintaras Grušas as Military Ordinary. The bishop-elect was consecrated on September 4, 2010, in the Vilnius Cathedral. On April 5, 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius. He began this ministry on April 23, 2013, upon his installation as Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius. Since October 28, 2014, he has served as Chairman of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference. 2017–2024 – Chairman of the Mass Media Commission of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference. On September 25, 2021, elected President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE).