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Diocese of VilkaviškisBishop
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Bishop Rimantas Norvila

Bishop of Vilkaviškis

Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Coat of arms of the Lithuanian Bishop Rimantas Norvila, Bishop of Vilkaviškis.
Born
Dec 2, 1957 Kaunas District Municipality, Lithuania, Lithuania
Nationality
Lithuania
Ordained priest
Feb 24, 1991 44279 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ordained bishop
Jun 29, 1997 Kaunas, Lithuania
Appointed
Jan 5, 2002
Principal consecrator
Sigitas Tamkevičius
Co-consecrators
Audrys Juozas Bačkis Vladas Michulevičius
Education
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Kaunas Priest Seminary

Born: December 2, 1957; Ordained Priest: February 24, 1991; Ordained Bishop: June 29, 1997; Bishop of Vilkaviškis: January 5, 2002. Bishop Rimantas Norvila was born on December 2, 1957, in the Kaunas district. After graduating from Kaunas Secondary School No. 26 (now the Simonas Daukantas School) in 1975, he studied at the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute and worked at several jobs. In 1986, he entered the Kaunas Interdiocesan Seminary; upon completion of his studies, he was ordained a priest on February 24, 1991. He served as a vicar at the Kaunas Archcathedral and at the St. Joseph and Christ's Resurrection parishes in Kaunas. In 1993, he was appointed Chancellor of the Kaunas Archdiocese Curia, while simultaneously working intensively on preparations for the visit of the Holy Father, John Paul II, to Lithuania. From 1995 to 1997, he studied at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, earning a licentiate degree in the theology of spirituality. In 1997, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Castro and Auxiliary Bishop of Kaunas. He was consecrated a bishop on June 29 of that same year in the Kaunas Archcathedral. While serving as Auxiliary Bishop, he also held the position of Rector of the Kaunas Seminary from 1997 to 2001. On July 27, 1999, he was appointed Vicar General of the Kaunas Archdiocese. As Auxiliary Bishop, Rimantas Norvila participated in the work of several commissions of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference—specifically those concerning the Apostolate of the Laity, the Life and Ministry of Priests, and Education—as well as the Ecumenical Council. On January 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Rimantas Norvila as Bishop of Vilkaviškis. His installation at the Vilkaviškis Cathedral took place on February 10, 2002. He served as Vice-President of the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference (LVK) from 2013 to 2014 and from 2019 to 2024; he was re-elected as Vice-President on November 18, 2024. From 2002 to 2011, he chaired the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference Council for Youth Affairs. From 2002 to 2018, he led the Council for Relations with the Polish Bishops' Conference. He headed the LVK Liturgy Commission from 2011 to 2014 and was elected to lead it again starting March 7, 2019. Since 2005, he has represented the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference at the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Brussels: he served as Vice-President of the commission from 2016 to 2018, as Chair of the COMECE External Relations Commission from 2018 to 2023, and was re-elected as COMECE Vice-President on March 22, 2023. Sent by the Lithuanian Bishops' Conference, he participated in Synods of Bishops at the Vatican in 1999, 2005, 2008, and 2014. Bishop Rimantas also serves as the LVK delegate to International Eucharistic Congresses.