Event expected to draw thousands to Lithuanian capital for five-day programme
Vilnius will host the 6th World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM) this June, an international Catholic gathering expected to attract around 5,000 participants.
Organised by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the congress will run over five days under the theme “Building the City of Mercy”. Previous editions have taken place in Rome, Kraków, Manila, Bogotá and Samoa.
The programme includes contributions from UK speakers Kevin Hyland and Nicky Gumbel, alongside a wider international line-up.
Events will take place across the city, with organisers incorporating religious sites into the schedule. Participants will also be able to follow the “Way of Mercy”, a pilgrimage route linking 14 locations including the Gate of Dawn, known for its 17th-century icon of the Mother of Mercy.
Organisers say the congress reflects Vilnius’s history as a multi-faith centre, where Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish and Protestant communities have shaped the city’s cultural and architectural landscape.
Beyond the congress, Vilnius remains a relatively less-visited European capital, receiving around 1.2 million visitors annually.
Its compact Old Town, designated a Vilnius Old Town, contains a high concentration of religious and historic sites within walking distance.
The city was selected as host in part due to its association with the Divine Mercy devotion.
In the 1930s, Faustina Kowalska reported visions while living in Vilnius, which inspired the first Divine Mercy image painted by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski. The original artwork is now displayed at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in the city’s Old Town.