Testimonies, gratitude and requests for prayer from partners to ACN and benefactors

Fr Roman Laba, a Pauline priest from Bowary, a suburb of the capital Kiev:

Many people came to the parish looking for help and shelter, and so we have set up emergency accommodation in the basement of our monastery and in the unfinished monastery church. At the moment we have around 80 people with us, “Please pray for Ukraine.”

Brother Vasyl, from a village near Mariupol, south-east Ukraine:

“We are staying and helping(…).Some people have come to us to make their confession for the first time in their life. Older and sick people are asking us to go to them and hear their confession. They want to be ready for death if it should come to that.”

Bishop Jan Sobilo, of Saporischschja in eastern Ukraine:

“I came here to serve the people, this terrible time of war must also turn itself into a blessing, so that goodness and love win.” He hopes for help from ACN: “The foundation always stands with us. If the worst comes to the worst, please keep helping us.”

The Latin rite bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of Kharkiv-Zaporiyia: 

“We are really surprised and very grateful for the mobilisation of so many people, not only all over Ukraine but also abroad… I would like to especially thank the benefactors who, through ACN, fulfil their calling to show mercy and love. I sincerely thank you all, the whole of the ACN team, all employees, volunteers and benefactors”.

“while evil has shown itself to be so strong, this has also exposed a lot of good. In a way, the evil we are experiencing also squeezes the good juice from the grape, and that good juice is our compassion, mutual support, and love. It shows our true faces. God bless you all! Thank you!”, adding “my message is short because we are under constant bombardment, and I am a little nervous, but we try to act normally. God bless you!”

The Latin rite bishop of Odessa, Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk (see more quotes below):

Aid from neighbouring countries has begun arriving, “but we are living in the here and now, and the situation is critical. We will remain here, and we ask for your prayers!”

Sister Natalia, a nun with the Greek Catholic order of the Sacred Family, in Lviv:

“Finally, after some very difficult days, I have found time to write a few words. (…) Here we have been helping the displaced, supplying air-raid bunkers, and welcoming people, especially women and children. Most then head abroad, but here they have the opportunity to rest with us. And we pray together. Thank you for everything”

Father Justyn, a Pauline Priest who had to escape to the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi, in Western Ukraine:

“People are scared because they do not know what is going to happen. Many friends have called me and ask why Ukraine has to put up with such evil. Some want to make their confessions, but I can’t confess them over the phone. All I can say is ‘reconcile with God, repent, sincerely ask for forgiveness and He will hear you’. We need to pray”. 

The project director of one of the Catholic eparchies of the Greek Catholic Church:

“My husband and two sons, both of whom are family men, have been called up. This is what life is like for us at the moment. Thanks for your prayers and support”. 

Father Grzegorz Draus, from the St. John Paul II parish in Lviv:

“We are taking in refugees who are headed for the border,”(…) When they arrive, they are exhausted and terrified.(…) “From what I have seen, war does not weaken the faith – quite the opposite. Those who came to Holy Mass, including more than twenty children, stayed for a while longer and prayed together. God is there and helps.”

Fr Mateusz, from the Roman Catholic parish of St Anthony in the Ukrainian capital:

“we have found refuge. There are already more than 30 of us here, including a few children, and we are experiencing God’s accompanying presence every day. (…) People have told me that there is a lot of anger and despair out there. People are crying and mourning a lot. It’s an atmosphere which is infectious. With us the atmosphere is different. Every day we pray together and adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“We are shepherds to everyone, and more people come every day. God is really walking with us. And insofar as we manage to do the essentials – shopping, organising food – we feel safe. We are persevering with our brothers and sisters in prayer and are praying for peace.”

“We are grateful for every bit of help and support coming in from all over the world and for the kind words. We thank everyone who is praying for us and giving donations.”

Catholic Bishop Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk of Odessa:

“There is unity in the city, great unity among believers and ecumenically. The war has made us very united, and we are grateful too for the European solidarity: this solidarity, and especially for the humanitarian support. 

I would particularly like to thank Aid to the Church in Need. They were the first organisation to call us and ask: “What should we do? How can we help?” Thank you for your willingness to help. We are very grateful, and we are praying.

On Sundays, we have six Masses here. We also do the Stations of the Cross, say the Rosary and pray for peace. And I keep on praying. We are praying and we are asking for prayer. Thank you for everything and especially for the spiritual and material help. May God reward you for everything.“

Magda Kaczmarek, Project Manager of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for Ukraine:

“The religious sisters are full of fear and anxiety, but they also feel upheld by prayer and by a worldwide wave of solidarity.”

“The nuns receive news from all around the world that people are thinking of them and praying for them.”

“They feel that they are a part of the Church and that many people are with them.”

Father Viaczeslaw Grynevytsch is a Pallotine Father  (and president of Caritas Spes):

(Priests and nuns staying behind to help people. This spiritual support) also serves as psychological support. When we were in Kiev, with that group of 27 people, I could see how prayer is very important for them. When the bombing started, they went to the bomb shelter and the first thing they did was pray together. It was the only type of support they had. Being with them, as priests, we tried to speak about God, about spirituality, and we opened our church.

Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine:

“Our main weapons, so to speak, are humility, surrendering ourselves totally to God, solidarity, and love. Because in any case if we are here for each other, if we are close to God, if we are faithful, He will look after us. And so it is during this war, which is not a purely human invention, there is something demonic about it – as there is in all violence. And we can only defeat the evil in this war together, all over the world, through fasting, prayer, much humility and love”. 

“These dramatic moments during the war push us to – as we hear from Isaiah – look at God with new eyes, with eyes of trust, of humility and conversion”. 

To donate to ACN's Emergency appeal for Ukraine visit www.aidtochurch.org/ukraine

Featured Image: Religious Sisters praying the rosary in a shelter. Copyright: Aid to the Church in Need.