As Vilnius prepares to host the Sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy (WACOM 6) from June 7 to 12, 2026, Archbishop Gintaras Gru\u0161as, President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, spoke with Omnes, where he discussed the virtue of mercy, understood as an act that helps societies understand justice and respond to those who suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA culture of mercy seeks restoration rather than exclusion, reconciliation rather than endless polarization, and solidarity rather than fear,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As archbishop of Vilnius, a city often referred to as the \u00abRome of the North,\u00bb he pastors a place that St. John Paul II commissioned to proclaim the message of Divine Mercy to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The archbishop explained that mercy is \u201cGod\u2019s love poured out upon us and within us,\u201d emphasizing that it is not an abstract idea but a lived reality, encountered \u201cin a privileged way through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WACOM is a global Catholic apostolic conference held every three years in a different country to help people encounter God's mercy and translate it into concrete acts of compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vilnius holds a special place in the history of Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina lived in the city and recorded her visions of Jesus in her diary, while the first widely recognized image of the Merciful Jesus was painted there under the guidance of her confessor, Blessed Father Micha\u0142 Sopo\u0107ko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The theme of WACOM 6, Building a City of Mercy, is intended to frame the congress not only as an important gathering, but as a call to conversion and daily witness. In a pastoral letter published in preparation for the congress, Gru\u0161as urged Catholics to begin a shared pilgrimage now by building a \u201ccity of mercy, not of stone,\u201d but one built on forgiveness, faithfulness, love, and compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gru\u0161as said that several images immediately come to mind when he hears the word \u201cmercy\u201d: the image of Divine Mercy itself, the father who runs to embrace the prodigal son, and the Good Samaritan who crosses borders to care for the wounded stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the conversation, the archbishop frequently emphasized that mercy is not an alternative to justice, but one of its most demanding forms. \u201cA culture of mercy seeks restoration rather than exclusion, reconciliation rather than endless polarization, and solidarity rather than fear,\u201d he explained. The statement reads like a diagnosis of Europe\u2019s current state of mind and, at the same time, an invitation to imagine another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His understanding of mercy, he added, deepened through personal milestones. He first encountered the Chaplet of Divine Mercy during his preparatory year at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, at a retreat led by Fr. George Kosicki, CSB, who had participated in the translation of St. Faustina\u2019s Diary into English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, in 2000, as a priest in the Archdiocese of Vilnius, he attended the canonization of St. Faustina and participated in previous World Apostolic Congresses on Mercy. Now, as host of WACOM 6, he sees mercy as \u201ca shared mission entrusted to the whole Church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gru\u0161as also highlighted pastoral experiences that vividly demonstrated concrete mercy. Witnessing a person being set free during an exorcism, he said, clarified St. John Paul II\u2019s teaching that \u201cmercy is the limit that God places on evil.\u201d It also shed light on what he called the hidden drama of the confessional: \u201cEvery confession is a silent liberation, a real victory of grace over darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lithuania\u2019s recent history, including decades of Soviet occupation, also shapes how the archbishop speaks about mercy. Oppression, he said, wounds \u201cmemory and identity,\u201d but the survival of faith under pressure shows that spiritual resilience can outlast political regimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Gru\u0161as explained, forgiveness has been a key element since independence in rebuilding the nation; \u201cnot as an exercise in forgetting,\u201d but as a firm refusal to allow resentment to define the future. Mercy, he said, allowed the nation to move from mere survival toward renewal and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gru\u0161as\u2019s international background, shaped by his childhood in the United States and his subsequent studies in Rome, also informs how he compares mercy across different cultural contexts. \u201cIn the U.S.,\u201d he said, \u201cmercy is often expressed through initiative: service, outreach, and concrete action. In Europe, by contrast, mercy is approached with greater caution and depth of reflection, shaped by long and complex histories.\u201d Both instincts, he argued, are necessary: mercy must be \u201cactive and courageous,\u201d but also \u201cmature and discerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a personal level, Gru\u0161as explained to Omnes that many Catholics struggle more with accepting mercy than with extending it. People often believe that love must be earned, he noted, and frequent confession helps heal that wound by teaching that grace comes first and conversion follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also cautioned against a common misunderstanding: that mercy excludes repentance. \u201cMercy invites repentance,\u201d he said, pointing to the prayer \u201cJesus, I Trust in You\u201d as a concise expression of the relationship between mercy, trust, and conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the conference organizers, the six-day program will include prayer and adoration, talks and testimonies, Mass, reconciliation services, pilgrimages in Vilnius, and charitable works\u2014with 6,000 pilgrims expected to participate. The dates also place the congress between the feasts of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart, with organizers linking this time to Pope Francis\u2019s 2024 encyclical on the Heart of Jesus, Dilexit nos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Gru\u0161as, however, the ultimate measure of success will not be the numbers, but what the participants bring back to their local churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope they come as pilgrims and return as witnesses,\u201d he added. If they leave convinced that mercy is not just something received, but something to be lived and proclaimed in their homes, parishes, and communities, he clarified, \u201cthen WACOM 6 will have fulfilled its mission.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mientras Vilna se prepara para albergar el Sexto Congreso Apost\u00f3lico Mundial de la Misericordia (WACOM 6) del 7 al 12 de junio de 2026, el arzobispo Gintaras Gru\u0161as, Presidente del Consejo de Conferencias Episcopales de Europa habl\u00f3 con Omnes, donde habl\u00f3 de la virtud de la misericordia, entendida como un acto que ayuda a las […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2425,"featured_media":61447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[36,46],"tags":[657,883],"class_list":["post-61446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualidad","category-mundo","tag-divina-misericordia","tag-polonia"],"yoast_head":"\n