Characteristics of the Spirituality of the Servant of God Elena Spirgevičiūtė

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7220/2335-8785.91(119).2

Keywords:

Elena Spirgevičiūtė, virtue, diary, chastity, spirituality

Abstract

This article explores the spirituality of Elena Spirgevičiūtė, a 19-year-old Lithuanian woman who died defending her chastity from Soviet partisans in 1944. In 2000, the beatification case of Elena Spirgevičiūtė was opened in the Catholic Church. The diary of Elena Spirgevičiūtė, published in 2021, is the main source of information about her spirituality. The diary reveals the evolution of a young girlʼs thoughts, feelings, choices and spirituality as she searches for her vocation and a meaningful life, striving to preserve her humanity in a challenging historical reality. Elena's spirituality is characterised by Christocentrism, mariological and ecclesiological dimensions. The diary bears witness to the author's love for Jesus, the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, the angels and the liturgical rites of the Church. Elena's prayer life is characterised by sincerity, spontaneity and intensity. She faithfully entrusts her daily life to God through prayer. The diary shows Elena's sensitivity of conscience, sustained by a constant search for virtue and the examination of her thoughts and actions. It is noteworthy that the diarist's process of spiritual and personal development is not self-contained, but is inseparable from her caring and loving relationships with her relatives and friends. Even when she reflects on the war and the painful events in her immediate environment, there is no room in Elena's diary for anger, resentment, condemnation, but only for compassion, pity, sincere concern. The authors of the article emphasise that the daily practice of the virtues and faith matured Elena Spirgevičiūtė for the fateful decision to sacrifice her life for the virtue of chastity.

Published

2025-01-28

Issue

Section

Pastoral Theology