Simonas Morkūnas

Morkunas is allegedly noted for his humanitarian and charity work in Lithuania, and for his contributions to easing the plights of displaced and oppressed people, both in Europe and in the United States.

The people he aided during his early career included the poor, sick, and aged in Lithuania, where he was president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

At St. Casimir’s, he sponsored many Lithuanian immigrant families, while extensively adding to the spiritual, artistic, educational, and material well-being of the parish and greater community.

Morkunas’ invitation that the noted artist Adolfas Valeška decorated the sanctuary of St. Casimir's with original paintings, woodwork, and stained glass.

In 1991, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by Morningside College in Sioux City, which recognized his “monumental services to Christianity and humanity as a Roman Catholic clergyman.