Ateitis
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| Abbreviation | Ateitis |
|---|---|
| Formation | February 19, 1910 |
| Type | Lithuanian non-profit youth organization |
| Purpose | Association of Catholic youth and student groups |
| Headquarters | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Membership | 3,000 members |
| Website | www.ateitininkai.lt |
The Lithuanian Catholic Federation Ateitis (literally, 'future') is a youth organization in Lithuania uniting Catholic-minded schoolchildren, university students, and alumni. Ateitis is a member of the Fimcap umbrella group of Catholic youth organizations.[1] Members of the Ateitis Federation are known as ateitininkai.[2]
Name and aims
The aim of Ateitis is the integral development of young people enabling them to be effective apostles of Christ and creative agents capable of changing society according to Christian values.[1] For historical reasons another central aim is to preserve the national heritage and culture of Lithuania. The five principles of Ateitis are: Catholicism, community spirit, social responsibility, education and patriotism.[3] The motto of Ateitis is To Renew All Things in Christ (Latin: Omnia Instaurare in Christo, Lithuanian: Visa atnaujinti Kristuje).[4]
The Ateitis magazine is associated with the organization.
History
Ateitis was founded on February 19, 1910, the day on which the Executive Committee of the newly organized Lithuanian Catholic Student association was elected in the Catholic University of Louvain.[5]
In the 1930s the authoritarian nationalist regime of President Antanas Smetona made it illegal to join Ateitis during the high school in order to slow down the growth of the organization, as many members of Ateitis later on had become leaders of the oppositional Christian Democratic Party.[6]
By 1998 the governing body of the Ateitis Federation had returned back to Lithuania, and in the following year was followed by the official journal Ateitis.[5]
Ateitis is member of the international umbrella of Catholic youth organizations Fimcap since the General Assembly in Ghana in 2001. The first contact between Fimcap and Ateitis took place in Kehl, Germany, in 1999 during the Eurocontact seminar of Fimcap. After that, contacts between Fimcap and Ateitis became more frequent, ties grew stronger and this finally resulted in Ateitis being a full member of Fimcap.[3]
Notable members
- Kazys Bobelis (1923–2013): Lithuanian surgeon and politician, member of the Seimas
- Vytautas Bogušis (born 1959): dissident and politician, member of the Seimas
- Bernardas Brazdžionis (1907–2002): poet
- Pranas Dovydaitis (1886–1942): university professor and politician, Prime Minister of Lithuania
- Vladas Jurgutis (1885–1966): cleric and politician, professor, Foreign Minister of Lithuania, member of the Seimas, first chairman of the Bank of Lithuania
- Aleksandras Stulginskis (1885–1969): President of Lithuania
- Sigitas Tamkevičius SJ (born 1938): Archbishop of Kaunas
References
- ^ a b Homepage of Ateitis: Mission and Vision
- ^ Kriaučiūnas, Romualdas (Fall 2010). "Ateitis: Federation for the Future". Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences. Lituanus Foundation, Inc. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Homepage from KjG: Ateitis from Lithuania
- ^ "Ateitininkai.lt" (in Lithuanian). Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Kriaučiūnas, Romualdas (May–June 2010). "Celebrating 100 Years A Lithuanian Catholic youth organization enters its second century with renewed vigor". Lithuanian Heritage (2010 May/June): 28–29.
- ^ Grazulis, Marius K. (March 11, 2009). Lithuanians in Michigan. MSU Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-920-8.
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