A NEW CROSS ON THE CAMP DAINAVA HILL OF CROSSES

This article was originally written in Lithuanian by Dalia Garūnas-Sadauskienė for Draugas. For the Lithuanian version, click here.

Every spring, nature awakens and flowers begin to bloom. This spring, a new cross “sprouted” on the Camp Dainava Hill of Crosses in memory of our uncle, Prelate Dr. Juozas Prunskis (1907–2003). Prelate Prunskis was a priest/prelate, journalist/writer, and benefactor who supported the Dainava campgrounds.

This 14-foot metal cross was constructed and “planted” by engineer-sculptor Marius Narbutaitis. The appearance of this cross is different from others because we aimed to partially replicate a smaller stone cross that stands in our uncle Prelate’s birthplace—Žvilbučiai, Zarasai district. In the center of the cross is a yellow glass tube, resembling amber, instead of a carved medallion of Jesus, as found in Žvilbučiai. The cross is decorated with metal “bands” and the Columns of Gediminas.

Prelate Dr. Juozas Prunskis was ordained as a priest in Lithuania in 1932, where he carried out pastoral work until fleeing the threat of communist Soviet occupation in 1940. He then continued his priestly work in parishes in the United States. He earned a doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1945. In 1987, the Holy Father elevated him to the rank of Prelate.

Prel. Prunskis was a journalist and writer. In Lithuania, he served as the editor of XX Amžius (“The 20th Century”), and in the U.S., he worked with the Marian publications The Marian and Laivas, as well as the editorial staff of the newspaper Draugas, among others. He authored 37 books and publications, and over 11,000 articles (many of which were published in the Chicago Tribune), seeking to inform the world about the communist Soviet occupation/oppression and the suffering of the Lithuanian people. His greatest wish was for Lithuania to become free again, and he actively worked toward that goal.

Uncle Prelate was also a benefactor who financially supported Catholic and national cultural causes, including Camp Dainava.

We are grateful to engineer Marius Narbutaitis for skillfully erecting the cross, to the Camp Dainava Council and the Hill of Crosses Committee for their permission to build it, to Camp Dainava Council members Dr. Marius Laniauskas and Audrius Rušėnas, and to the volunteers—engineer Linas Mikulionis and Vitas Underis (with his wife Taura)—who came on a sunny spring day to help install the cross.

We thank God we had Uncle Prelate Dr. Juozas Prunskis among us, who worked tirelessly for the good of God and homeland.

This project was supported and financed by the daughters of Uncle Prelate’s sister, Dr. Ona Garūnienė—Dr. Dalia Sadauskienė and Rūta Sula—and by the son of Uncle Prelate’s brother, Dr. Vladas Prunskis—Honorary Consul Dr. Jonas Prunskis—and his daughters, attorney Marytė Brizgienė and Dr. Teresė Kazlauskienė.