Vilnius University

Walerian Protasewicz, the bishop of Vilnius, purchased several buildings in the city center and established the Vilnian Academy in 1569, one year after the Lithuanian nobility had asked the Jesuits to create an institution of higher learning in Vilnius or Kaunas. The three divisions at the academy were humanities, philosophy, and theology. In 1570, a library was established, 2500 books were donated to the new college by Sigismund II Augustus and the first students enrolled into the Academy. Stefan Batory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, granted the academy equal status with the Kraków Academy on April 1, 1579, and created the Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu. Pope Gregory XIII's bull of October 30, 1579 approved his edict and the first rector of the Academy was Piotr Skarga.