Since 2018, the Redemptorist community in Lithuania has been working closely with confreres from various provinces to strengthen their mission. From retreats to Bible courses to Advent gatherings, these efforts have fostered spiritual growth and fellowship. This year, the focus is on the Mystery of the Incarnation during a retreat in Šiluva, led by Fr. Maurice O’Mahony. Here’s how the mission continues to evolve.
Since the Slovak Redemptorists began their mission in Lithuania in September 2018, our small missionary community has often been supported by confreres from the Bratislava-Prague Province and other provinces.
In our first year of ministry, Father Ronald McAinsh led a triduum in Kaunas Cathedral and held a retreat for the priests of the Archdiocese of Kaunas (October 2019), marking the Extraordinary Missionary Month.
During the pandemic, Father Ciarán Ó Callaghan of Dublin Province led two online Bible courses for the entire archdiocese: one on the Pentateuch and another on the Prophets. During the Year of the Family and St. Joseph, we also organized an online course dedicated to St. Joseph. We are deeply grateful to our confreres and friends in the Dublin and London Provinces for their generous support during this difficult time.
This year, in honor of the Year of St. Gerard Majella, Father Gianluigi Colucci of the Province of Rome visited our community and our lay associates, giving an inspiring presentation on St. Gerard.
At the beginning of Advent (November 28–30, 2025), Father Maurice O’Mahony, rector of the Redemptorist Monastery in Clapham, London, led a retreat for Redemptorists and their partners in the Tree of Life missionary community at the National Marian Shrine in Šiluva, Lithuania. The retreat’s theme was the Mystery of the Incarnation. The program included lectures, personal spiritual direction, a meeting with the men’s group, intercessory prayer, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
We are deeply grateful to Father Maurice for his inspiring presence and to all our confreres from other provinces who, over these seven years, have supported and enriched our mission in Lithuania with their gifts and encouragement.
Fr. Rastislav Dluhý, CSsR.
