In the paper we investigate continuity of Orlicz-Sobolev mappings W 1,P (M, N ) of finite distortion between smooth Riemannian n-manifolds, n ≥ 2, under the assumption that the Young function P satisfies the so called divergence condition ∞ 1 P (t)/t n+1 dt = ∞. We prove that if the manifolds are oriented, N is compact, and the universal cover of N is not a rational homology sphere, then such mappings are continuous. That includes mappings with Df ∈ L n and, more generally, mappings with Df ∈ L n log −1 L. On the other hand, if the space W 1,P is larger than W 1,n (for example if Df ∈ L n log −1 L), and the universal cover of N is homeomorphic to S n , n = 4, or is diffeomorphic to S n , n = 4, then we construct an example of a mapping in W 1,P (M, N ) that has finite distortion and is discontinuous. This demonstrates a new global-to-local phenomenon: both finite distortion and continuity are local properties, but a seemingly local fact that finite distortion implies continuity is a consequence of a global topological property of the target manifold N .Recently, the result of Vodop'janov and Gol'dšteȋn has been extended to the case of mappings between manifolds [9].Theorem 1. Let M and N be smooth, oriented, n-dimensional Riemannian manifolds without boundary and assume additionally that N is compact. If f ∈ W 1,n (M, N) has 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 30C65; Secondary 46E35, 58C07.