Vilnius hosts world’s largest Catholic Mercy Congress this June – with two familiar British faces among speakers

This June, Vilnius will host the 6th World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM) – one of the most significant international Catholic gatherings of the year. The event is expected to draw around 5,000 participants from across the globe under the theme “Building the City of Mercy.” The congress is organised by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, and was previously held in Rome, Kraków, Manila, Bogota, and Samoa.

The speaker programme includes two names well known to British audiences. Kevin Hyland OBE, the UK’s first Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and Nicky Gumbel, the Anglican vicar behind the Alpha course, will both address the congress.

Vilnius was chosen as the host city for WACOM, as it is the birthplace of the Divine Mercy devotion – one of the most widespread religious movements in modern Catholicism, and a story extraordinary enough to stand on its own in art history.

In 1934, a young Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska was living in a convent in the Antakalnis district of Vilnius. She had been receiving visions of a figure of Jesus with two rays of light, red and white, streaming from his heart and symbolising a message of compassion and divine forgiveness. The visions were turned into the first image of the Divine Mercy by local artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski.

Today, the Divine Mercy image is found in virtually every Catholic church around the globe, making it arguably the most reproduced sacred painting of the 20th century. The original is still displayed at the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holding over 30 churches within walking distance of each other.

Baroque Old Town of Vilnius. © Go Vilnius

“While in Vilnius, WACOM participants can explore the Way of Mercy – a pilgrimage route linking 14 sacred sites, St. Faustina’s house, and the Gate of Dawn chapel,
home to a 17th-century icon of the Mother of Mercy,” said Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius.

According to him, Vilnius has been a multi-faith spiritual crossroads for centuries, and Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and Protestant communities have all left their mark on the city’s architecture and culture. The congress and the pilgrimage route fit within this broader context.

Beyond its spiritual heritage, Vilnius makes for a compelling short break in its own right. The city welcomes approximately 1.2 million visitors annually – a fraction of the footfall seen in Rome or Paris – offering the kind of unhurried, walkable Old Town experience that is increasingly rare in Europe. Reachable from the UK in under three hours by direct flight, it is an accessible destination for travellers seeking historic depth without the crowds.

The novelty of the city is one of the factors driving people to visit, as shown by a recent survey conducted by Go Vilnius. According to it, 30% of inbound visitors chose the city to discover something new, with visitors noting that Vilnius exceeded their expectations when it comes to historical sites, walkability and easy access to nature.

The WACOM program runs five full days, with conferences, concerts, talks, and openings featuring an international roster of speakers – among them ex-gangster turned Catholic speaker John Pridmore, Catholic podcaster Matt Fradd, and the Kissel Family, known to millions through their YouTube ministry.
“Every afternoon, participants will step away from the conference hall and into the Old Town’s churches for the Hour of Mercy. This way the city itself becomes part of the congress,” says Inesa Čaikauskienė, Director of the World Apostolic Congress of Mercy Vilnius 2026.