14. Jul 2025

Sidabravo - Paberžė

Photo 1: Tėvas Stanislovas is considered to be a Lithuanian saint. During the time of soviet occupation, he was sent to Siberia, because he refused to stop doing his ministry as a priest. He survived the ordeal and was sent to the obscur village parish of Paberžė. There he gave homeless people a home, alcohlics and drug addicts found freedom and a purpose to live. Paberžė became a place of hope and new beginning. The story of his life and legacy was very impressive. He sounded like a person I would have liked to have known. Paberžė was the destination for today's walk.

Photo 2: Two bike pilgrims on their way...

Photo 3: For most of the afternoon I was trying to stay ahead of the storm. I made it!

Photo 4: The two sisters Egle and Lina with me in the room where Stanislovas had slept. A photo of him is in the background. The hostel where we stayed was actually Stanislovas house. We slept in the beds where the homeless, addicts and other pilgrims back then had slept. An older lady who had worked with Stanislovas showed us some of the rooms and opened the church for us. Stanislovas was in his mid eighties when he died of cancer. The lady still remembers his last sermon: "Do not be so foccussed on your physical selbst, but take care of your spirit. Let your spirit be alive and filled with light from heaven."

Photo 5: Inside the parish church in Paberžė. That evening a new priest arrived who would be taking over the ministry responsiblities of the parish. I saw when he drove in and went over to speak with him. Gladly he accepted my prayer of blessing for his ministry and the people who come to Paberžė... searching for that light from heaven.