At the start of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, 19 members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, which established Holy Family University in 1954, were stationed in Ukraine. The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth established a presence in Ukraine when a home was built in Lviv in 1892 and continued their charitable works in the country in the aftermath of Ukraine’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991.
As the invasion of Ukraine began, the brave and devoted Sisters serving in Ukraine chose to remain in some of the most vulnerable parts of the country in which Russia has chosen to wage war to assist local families. Five of the Sisters are now in Poland and are ministering to the many refugees who cross the border. 14 Sisters remain in Ukraine, including a community of seven Sisters who have taken refuge in a church basement with nearly 100 people entrusted to their care.
“It was a shock, panic broke out,” Sister Franciszka Tumanevych, CSFN, who lives in a convent in the northern Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, told the Catholic News Agency. “But everything calmed down in the evening. Then the next day, we understood that we had to learn to live in war conditions, and we took up concrete work. For if you remain idle, it’s terrible. Now, we keep praying.”
Sister Angela Marie Mazzeo, CSFN, the superior general of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, spoke to Philadelphia’s KYW Newsradio in February, telling the radio station “They are being very brave, hearing the explosions and seeing the panic of the people. They are just exhibiting courage.”
Sister Maria Beata, CSFN, Regional Superior for Ukraine recently shared this message: “We hope for the end of this war as soon as possible. We believe that God will protect us and that we will still be able to serve the Church in Ukraine. Thank you for your prayers. We count on them very much.”
Please pray for our Sisters in Ukraine, and for all of the families throughout Ukraine for their safety and for an end to this horrific act of war.
