Dear sisters, dear brothers, My last letter contained a moving testimony of the pain that is tearing apart the hearts of many Ukrainian women. Men are suffering in the same way — because their girlfriends, mothers, and wives are also dying on the front lines. Many of them are serving in the ranks of the Ukrainian Army as medical personnel.…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, I’ve been waiting to send this letter until Father Misha and hisvolunteers from the House of Saint Martin de Porres are safely on theirway back to Fastiv. They left yesterday with the humanitarian transportto Kherson. Unfortunately I couldn’t join them, so I’m only gettingreports over the telephone. These days Kherson is very dangerous becauseboth the city…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, I never thought that one could long for lights. When I got off the Kyiv train in Warsaw, I was surprised by the festival of brightly lit streets, buildings, and, above all, colorful Christmas decorations. When you add to it the snow that just fell in Poland in abundant supply, it all looked like a New…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, Once again Fr. Misha, the volunteers from Saint Martin, and I traveled to Izium and Balakliya. This time we were joined by Mr. Bartosz Cichocki, the Polish ambassador to Ukraine. He’s one of the diplomats who didn’t abandon their posts in Kyiv at the beginning of the war. He and his wife Monika strongly support all…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, I did not expect how euphoric the Ukrainians’ joy would be after the liberation of Kherson. This city, one of the most important in the south, had been under Russian occupation for 256 days. I’ve heard many times from Father Misha about his dream to finally load the cars and personally deliver aid to the people…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, “We are asking for prayers. Today is a terrible day. Multiple rockets are flying over us. Explosions in Kyiv; we have dead and wounded casualties. Similar situations in many larger cities. I haven’t slept in a couple days. I am afraid. I have started to feel overwhelmed.” — This is the message I received at 8am…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, It has been 200 days since the beginning of the war. Although the Ukrainian army’s most recent military achievements and the lifting of Russian occupation in the territories of the Kharkiv Oblast and the south of the country brought us joy, hope, and expectation, we are all aware that the road to full victory remains long.…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, I have to admit that Saint Hyacinth becomes closer and closer to me every year. I see my ministry in Ukraine as a realization of his desire to preach the Gospel on the shores of the Dnieper. I had the great joy of visiting Rome on Holy Saturday this year, when I went to the Basilica…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, I wrote the last letter from Ukraine over a month ago. That’s a long time. Since life in Kyiv has become calmer and more normal, it’s harder to force yourself to write. Routine, weariness of repeated air alarms, beginning each day with checking the phone to see where bombs fell overnight and how many casualties, the…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, It’s been over two weeks since my last letter from Ukraine. This longer period between correspondences might give the impression of a return to normalcy. If one of you arrived now in Kyiv or Lviv not knowing a war has been going on for over four months, you might not see at first glance that not…
