STEMPUZIS, JOSEPH (24 June 1921-24 April 1992) was a leader in the cultural and political affairs of Cleveland's Lithuanian-American community. A native of Kaisiadorys, Lithuania, he graduated from the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute in 1944 and was a family friend of Vytautas Landsbergis, who would become Lithuania's first president after independence.
ST. VITUS CHURCH, at E. 61st St. and Glass Ave., was the first Catholic church in Cleveland for SLOVENES. Later one of the largest Slovenian churches in America, St. Vitus's first service was on 6 Aug. 1893. The first priest was the newly ordained Vitus Hribar. The first services were held at ST. PETER CHURCH in Cleveland.