Present in six parish communities in Ukraine, the confreres who work there tell us about the mission of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in this country at war.
Dear Confreres,
We would like to briefly write to you about the work of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Ukraine and, above all, to thank you for your prayers and material support. This year, our group has grown by one confrere. Fr. Jerzy Wilk (expelled from Belarus after more than 20 years of pastoral service in that country) has joined us in Ukraine. He will serve in Irpin. Currently, we are nine SCJ confreres, working in six locations across Ukraine. These locations, our parishes, as our ministry in Ukraine is primarily parish-based, are situated in the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions (Oblasti).
Our pastoral and Dehonian ministry in Ukraine is thus carried out primarily through parish management. In addition to the main parishes, we also serve nearby parishes and chapels.
Beyond this, however, our activity also includes some special pastoral ministries. We are engaged in parish missions and organize gatherings for the youth and altar servers of our parishes. We have two centers where these meetings can be organized and are held periodically. In the current situation in Ukraine, we are also compelled to organize humanitarian aid for those in need, particularly in areas affected by the war. In this endeavor, we receive significant assistance from the Mission Secretariats of the German and Polish Provinces.
We are also involved in construction projects. We are building a church in Irpin, near Kyiv, and a rectory in Miropol in the Zhytomyr region. The church in Irpin is already roofed, with windows and most external doors installed; in short, the building shell is complete, and the interior finishing work remains. The rectory in Miropol is also ready, with only the finishing touches left to complete. Furthermore, we are engaged in various smaller renovation and improvement projects in the churches entrusted to us.
Our main problem now is the ongoing war. Although direct hostilities are far from us, we still feel their effects. The first is the military mobilization of men, with its ensuing tragedies: death, severe injuries, and lengthy recoveries, which sometimes result in long-lasting psychological trauma affecting families and society. To address this, we run small spiritual counseling clinics in our parishes. For more complex cases, we refer individuals to specialists. We also notice in our parishes many children needing care, left orphaned without fathers because the war has taken them away forever.
Another issue is the frequent power outages, sometimes lasting up to six hours a day.
To carry out all this work, we need prayer and material support. We thank all the Confreres of the Congregation for the assistance we have received. First and foremost, we thank you for your financial support of our construction projects. Sincerely, thank you very much!
May God bless you!
