UKRAINE WAR UPDATE
Thanks your steady faith, hope and charity, you have made a difference in the lives of many people in Ukraine.
With your support, Ukraine is one of the countries which we have aided the most in recent years
Can Ukraine survive?
“Good news from Ukraine: We are alive! It is a miracle.” Mgr. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukraine Catholic Church.
Since the war broke out, you have been working miracles. You are bringing God’s love to Ukraine! Your love and unwavering faith have saved many lives.
Thanks to you, “nobody in Ukraine died because of hunger, thirst or lack of basic human needs,” said Mgr. Shevchuk.
That is because when the war started, you immediately stepped up to help.
Thanks to your contribution, we were one of the first organizations to come to their assistance. People in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhya, Odesa, and others in the region of Donetsk were grateful to receive your emergency aid.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, your generosity reached out to more than 2,200 displaced people. They have all benefited directly from your humanitarian aid.
With more than 48 emergency aid projects, your help has reached 8,245 priests, religious sisters and brothers, and diocesan staff.
“The Church, as a mother, is taking care of her children.” Mgr. Shevchuk
It was you who enabled the Church to be there for herpeople. Priests and religious could stay with their people, with the refugees. They are ready to serve in their parishes and convents, orphanages, hospitals, homes for single mothers, and facilities for aged and sick people.
You made it all possible!
By offering existence aid for religious, you ensure their subsistence. They can carry out their mission of helping those in need because of you.
Since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, you have supported 1,632 religious with existence aid.
“We are convinced that God is helping us survive this difficult times of war through your prayer and your help. We, the Church of Christ, are with our people, who are in danger, in need, vulnerable, frightened, wounded, and weak.” Fr. Mateus Adamski from Kyiv.
What Ukraine looks like now?
The war is entering in its third year. But, thanks to your compassion, life goes on.
“There is a shelter near us, under the church. 500 children run when there is an alarm and hide there. I have tears in my eyes. War. Bombardments. Fear.
The alarm passes.
Then I go to the city center…
The same children run, eat ice cream, ride on scooters, are having fun, fooling around. And I come to the conclusion that life is stronger than death.” Albertine brother Bernard Charnucha from Lviv.
Indeed, your unwavering belief that life is stronger than death, is what gives hope to Ukrainians.
Wishing to give 7,200 children and teenagers a break from all the torments of the war, you offered pastoral care in holiday camps. Rest assured that the fruits of your kindness will be reaped in a brighter future.
Of course, as you know, all Ukrainians are exhausted. Over 80% of the population is affected by war in one way or another.
“We are all changed by this war. It presses itself into our lives. It is impossible to remain indifferent. Someone close to you dies. A neighbor won’t come back from the frontline. Someone is being taken away to the battle fields.” Sr. Aneta Tobiasz, regional superior of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Your fellow brothers and sisters in faith in Ukraine know that you are not indifferent to their suffering. Thanks to you, more than 6,290 people benefited from a spiritual retreat.
But to face the traumas of the ongoing war, even with a strong faith, Ukrainians need help. Once again, you came forth.
“The future of Ukraine and the Church depends on how we will be able to respond to this need to overcome war trauma.” Mgr. Shevchuk .
You gave the Church the means to respond to traumas and other problems linked to the aftereffects of violence. Thanks to you, religious can help people cope with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.
Your generous contribution trained over 1,021 persons in trauma healing. And with your support, 11 psychological-spiritual centers were financed all over Ukraine.
Besides material aid, you have been supportive with your prayers . And your prayers unite you and all those affected by the war.
Since the war broke out, priests in Ukraine celebrated over 266,00 Masses for your intentions. These Mass Stipends you offered are vital to the subsistence of the priests and their communities.
“All priests of the exarchate of Donetsk currently fulfil social tasks in addition to the usual pastoral work. In times of war, they are more financially dependent on external aid than ever before.” S.E. Stephan Menok, bishop of Donetsk.
Your history of aid to Ukraine
Since the armed conflict, which resulted in the annexation of Crimea in 2014, you have supported the Greek Catholic and Latin Catholic communities in Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and Kharkiv.
“Given our proximity to the Russian border and the few kilometers separating us from the frontline, the start of the war was very dramatic for us.
We look after single mothers and children daily. We run an emergency aid center and two social hostels.
We are all terrified by the constant bombing and the sounds of planes flying overhead.
Together with our hosts, we are praying for peace. Until that happens, there will be no normality and no sense of security.” Sr. Kamila Frydryszewska, orionist from Kharkiv.
Your generosity strengthens the Orionist sisters. It also strengthens many sisters, religious, and priests otherwise cut off from the rest of Ukraine. Thanks to your care, they stay strong in their communities.
“On behalf of all the sisters of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, I thank you very much for your long-standing kindness and support, especially during the still ongoing war.” Mgr. Vitalij Kryvytskyj, bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr.
Military chaplains can also carry out their mission in eastern Ukraine thanks to you. By financing 130 liturgical Mass kits, you brought Christ closer to those fighting on the battlefront.
And because your faith is your stronghold, you also offered 70,000 copies of religious books. They were distributed, and many people found a source of comfort and hope in them.
“It is easier to live through the trauma of war with God. He is the refuge. He is the support. He is the one who gives hope.” Sr. Aneta Tobiasz.
Thank you for bringing God’s Word to Ukraine. The history of your aid to Ukraine and your willingness to keep the faith alive in the country dates to the 1950s.
Since 1953, with your help, we have been supporting seminarians. Back then, your support went to those who had emigrated. Afterward, restoring the Greek Catholic Studite monks, an order almost liquidated by the communists in 1946.
Until the legalization of the Church in Ukraine in 1989, you supported the Ukraine Greek Catholic Church in exile. After years of persecution, your aid was crucial to rebuild Church life in the country.
Your help is still essential to the Church life in Ukraine.
“The war has added an extra dimension to my vocation. I feel a growing need to serve the people, not only as a priest, but already now as a seminarian.” Oleg, seminarian from Kniazhychi.
With your support, many vocations could answer to God´s call. Since the war broke out in 2022, you enabled 1,128 seminarians to pursue their formation.
“All in all, I see this as a time of grace. Many things are now even better than before. The greater the harm, the greater the experience of God´s healing. That is the paradox in war.” Fr. Rusan Mykhallkiv, rector of the Vorzel Seminary.