Vilnius, Lithuania - July 2022 – On 15 July, over 400 pilgrims from Our Lady of Mercy Parish, led by the Salesians from Suwałki, Poland, began their voyage on foot, and after a journey of about 250 kilometers reached the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in "Ostra Brama," Vilnius, Lithuania. The pilgrimage participants, guided by the motto "Courage! I am!", were welcomed by Bishop Jerzy Mazur, pastor of the Diocese of Ełk. The Mass in the presence of the picture of Divine Mercy was presided over by Msgr. Stanisław Gądecki, President of the Polish Episcopate, flanked by Fr. Piotr Sosnowski, SDB, Vicar of the Salesian Province of Warsaw (PLE), and many priests. From the very beginning, the organization of the pilgrimage was taken care of by the Salesians of the PLE Province and the Salesian community of Suwałki; Director of this year's pilgrimage was Fr Michał Słojewski, SDB. The Suwałki pilgrimage first departed for Vilnius in 1991, after Lithuania regained its independence, as thanksgiving for the freedom of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe and the fall of communist regimes in that part of the world.
Fr. Marek Gryn