Rev. Matthew Cyvas, 100

A funeral Mass was offered May 5 at Most Holy Name of Jesus Church, Gulfport, Fla., for Rev. Matthew Cyvas, who died May 2. He was a priest for 75 years.

A native of Pagirys, Lithuania, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Kaunas during the Russian occupation of Lithuania before the U.S. entrance into World War II. He served at a parish from 1941-44 and studied in Rome after the war; he once told The Evangelist that his most memorable time before coming to the Albany Diocese was serving as secretary to an archbishop in Lithuania from 1944-45.

In the U.S., he initially served in the Diocese of San Diego, coming to Albany in 1952. He worked in the diocesan Tribunal until 1970; during that time, he was incardinated as a priest of the Albany Diocese. He was associate pastor at St. Patrick's parish in Albany, St. Thomas in Delmar, Sacred Heart in Cairo, St. Peter's in Delhi, St. Joseph's in Scotia, St. Michael's in Amsterdam and, finally, St. George's in Albany, where he was appointed pastor. The parish had a large Lithuanian population. He retired to Florida in 1988, serving a Lithuanian community there.

A century of life and three-quarters of a century of service is a remarkable record. Father Cyvas has earned his rest and his welcome into the heavenly kingdom.

Interment was at Memorial Park Cemetery, St. Petersburg, Fla.[[In-content Ad]]