Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis is a retired Archishop of Vilnius who led a distinguished career in Vatican diplomacy and ecclesiastical service.

Born on February 1, 1937, in Kaunas, Lithuania, Bačkis spent much of his early life in Paris due to his father’s diplomatic career.

Bačkis received his education in Paris and Rome and was ordained as a priest in 1961. He obtained a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and doctorate in Canon Law from the Lateran University.

After ordination he began his service in the Kaunas Archdiocese, but in 1964, Bačkis entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving in various capacities in the Philippines, Costa Rica, Turkey, and Nigeria. His diplomatic career culminated in his appointment as Pro-Nuncio to the Netherlands in 1988.

Alongside his diplomatic responsibilities, he actively participated in pastoral care by assisting at various parishes, collaborated with religious organizations (especially youth and family), led retreats and discussions.

On October 4, 1988, Bačkis was consecrated as a bishop by Pope John Paul II along with Archbishop Achille Silvestrini and Bishop Juozas Preikšas. In 1991, he was appointed Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius, a position he held until his retirement in 2013.

Pope John Paul II elevated Bačkis to the rank of cardinal on February 21, 2001. He served as the President of the Lithuanian Bishop’s Conference for two terms (1993-1999 and 2002-2005) and was Vice President of the European Bishop’s Synod Member Committee.

Bačkis played a crucial role in organizing Pope John Paul II’s apostolic journey to Lithuania in 1993. He has been a member of several important Vatican congregations and committees, including for education and communications.

In 1993, he re-established the Vilnius Seminary. In the same year, due to his initiative, a Theology Department was established at the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute, where Religion teachers were trained. He has been a patron of the Faith and Light Community, which helps unite families who are raising disabled children.

He helped to build Versmė School, which provides integrated Catholic-oriented education, where children with disabilities study together with healthy children. He is the Spiritual Father of this school. In 1992, he established the Betanija Food Shelter which feeds about 500 people cost-free every day.

In 2003, he was presented with the Vytautas Didysis Order’s Great Cross, and on May 13, 2003, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Krakow’s Pontifical Theological Academy.

As a cardinal, Bačkis participated in the 2005 and 2013 papal conclaves, and the 2015 Synod on the Family.

After his retirement, Pope Francis appointed Bačkis as his Special Envoy to celebrations marking the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of the Kievan Rus in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2013.

Cardinal Bačkis is known for his linguistic abilities. Besides his native Lithuanian, he speaks English, French, German, Italian, and Polish. He also has a limited comprehension of Dutch and is renowned as one of the Catholic hierarchy’s better Latin speakers.