Juozapas Kukta

Juozapas Kukta (3 February 1873 – 16 June 1942) was a Lithuanian clergyman and the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kaišiadorys (1926–1942).

Educated at the Vilnius Priest Seminary and Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy, Kukta was ordained priest in 1898 and was assigned to Vilnius. He became rector of the Church of Saint Nicholas which was the first and only church to offer services in the Lithuanian language. He later was a parson of the Church of All Saints (1908–1917) and canon of the curia of Vilnius Cathedral. In 1922, he was arrested by the Polish police and deported from Vilnius. He was then appointed administrator of the portion of the Diocese of Vilnius which remained within the territory of interwar Lithuania. In 1926, this portion became the Diocese of Kaišiadorys and Kukta was appointed its first bishop. Kukta completed the construction of the Neo-Gothic Kaišiadorys Cathedral and bishop's residence. He organized the first diocesan eucharistic congress in 1931 and synod in 1936.

In Vilnius, Kukta became an active participant in various Lithuanian societies, including the Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius which organized a Lithuanian school, Society of Saint Zita which supported Lithuanian female servants, and Lithuanian Education Society Rytas which organized Lithuanian primary schools in Vilnius Region. During World War I, he was a board member of the Lithuanian Society for the Relief of War Sufferers. Kukta attended the Great Seimas of Vilnius in 1905 and Vilnius Conference in 1917.

Biography Early life and education Juozapas Kukta was born on 3 February 1873 in near Kurkliai to a well off family of Lithuanian farmers.