A conference organized by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Apparition of God was held August 30, 2015, in Panevėžys, Lithuania. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky gave the welcome speech and presented the organizers with a certificate of gratitude and flowers. The chairwoman spoke warmly of those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust and underlined the role played by Marija Rusteikaitė, who officially rescued 15 Jews during the war and also saved several others by sending to other people. For her heroism, the state of Israel awarded Marija Rusteikaitė the medal and certificate of Righteous Gentile posthumously.

Danutė Selčinskaja, the director of the department of Rescue and Commemoration of Jews at the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Vilnius, delivered a paper devoted to Marija Rusteikaitė. One of those Marija Rusteikaitė rescued was in the audience, Sulamita Lev, who in turn spoke about the hardships and history of her family. Danutė Selčinskaja also presented a museum exhibit panel with photographs and material on the history of Sulamita Lev’s rescue, and commented on details contained in the exhibit.

Leonora Kasiulytė, Marija Rusteikaitė’s sister, gave a brief biography and presented the book “Teisuolė Marija Rusteikaitė gimnazistų piešiniuose” [“Righteous Gentile Marija Rusteikaitė in Drawings by High School Students”]. The book, laden with illustrations by students from the Vytautas Žemkalnis Gymnasium of Panevėžys, recounts Rusteikaitė’s life and heroic deeds.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman spoke next and passed out small gifts (medals) and matzo bread to attendees. He thanked the organizers for their enlightening educational work. The Panevėžys Jewish Community has been working together with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Apparition of God for 15 years.