As tanks rolled across the Ukraine border and Russian missiles bombarded major cities, the Catholic faithful in parishes across the Diocese of Brooklyn held prayerful Masses for the Ukrainian people this past weekend to offer hope and support for the war-ravaged European nation.
The Vatican is ready to facilitate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
As Russian troops approached Ukraine’s capital, Pope Francis phoned the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, offering his encouragement and promising, “I will do everything I can” to help.
On a day when the world saw the heart-rending images of Russia launching a brutal invasion of Ukraine, people gathered at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington Feb. 24.
There is a tremor in his voice when Redemptorist Father Taras Svirchuk speaks about the situation in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Archbishop Borys Gudziak spent time in Lisieux, France, at the grave of St. Thérése, praying for Ukraine and for Russian President Vladamir Putin’s conversion, so that Russia and the rest of the world could be free of his tyranny.
As Russia continued its assault on Ukraine and Russian troops pressed toward the capital, Kyiv, Pope Francis left the Vatican Feb. 25 to pay a visit to the Russian ambassador to the Holy See.
Ambassadors to the Holy See, priests, religious and laity packed Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere to overflowing Feb. 24, pleading to God for peace in Ukraine.
Various Catholic agencies are collecting donations to aid with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as people flee to escape Russian bombing and shelling. Here are some places to donate. This list is not exhaustive.
The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Bishop Robert Brennan prayed for peace in Ukraine during a broadcasted Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, Feb. 24.
