On Saturday, June 28, the largest national event of the Jubilee Year in Lithuania, the Festival of Hope, took place at the Kaunas Sports Hall. About two thousand people gathered to celebrate the hope we have in the Risen Christ. On the same day, the event was blessed by Pope Leo XIV. during a morning meeting with the President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) and the Archbishop of Vilnius, Gintaras Grušas, who briefed him on the event at the Vatican.
The event began with an inspirational speech on hope, delivered by Fr. Pijus Eglinas OP. The Slovak Redemptorists working in Lithuania were responsible for the two-hour session of praise and worship, Adoration, and intercession. The team included members of the two Redemptorist missionary communities from Slovakia; River of Life (Rieka Života) and Calvary. The band was honoured to have Terl Bryant (Voice of Drums) from England as a drummer as well as various musicians from Lithuania. The choir was made up of young people from different communities and groups in Kaunas. Around thirty members of the praise and worship team were joined by the Polish evangelist and speaker, Marcin Zelinsky, and his team.
For the first time, among the worship songs, a powerful song with the theme of the Jubilee Year of Grace: The Days of Elijah, was sung in Lithuanian. The song was written by Robin Mark in Belfast. The Archbishop of Kaunas Archdiocese, Kęstutis Kėvalas, played this song with the team on the accordion. During the time of Adoration, 50 priests were hearing confessions.
The Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas, was concelebrated by the Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas, Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Baltic States, Georg Gänsweina, and the Bishops of Lithuania. At the end of the Mass, the Nuncio said that the gathering in the hall had given those present an experience of the joy of encounter with God and that it was like a symphony in several movements, culminating in the Celebration of the Eucharist.
After the Mass, there was a concert by the famous Lithuanian pop singer, Linas Adomaitis.
Fr. Rastislav Dluhý, CSsR.
