Lighthouses and Pillars

You can recognize good priests by their fruits!

While many people are fleeing Kyiv, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas has no intention of leaving the city. Right now, he wants to be close to the people as a priest, bishop, and shepherd, offering them support in their despair and distress. The archbishop, born in Lithuania, is the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine.

Here is the English translation:

In these weeks, the archbishop is almost on duty around the clock, regardless of the dangerous situation. He celebrates Holy Mass in the basement kitchen of the nunciature, currently the safest place in the building. The support and overwhelming sympathy he receives from all over the world encourage him to keep going. In the midst of the war, he faithfully fulfills the Church’s mission to help every person. He is deeply moved by the humanity he witnesses daily, even in the midst of the war’s suffering.

Vyacheslav Grynevych, priest and director of Caritas-Spes Ukraine, also remains in Kyiv, risking his life to help provide people with the most essential needs: drinking water, food, clothing, blankets, and medicine. He often has to coordinate the transport of relief supplies from the air-raid shelter. These supplies are often delivered to Caritas or the nunciature by aid organizations – but they are urgently needed elsewhere. Transporting them is life-threatening and has already cost the lives of several helpers – and even children they had rescued from the rubble.

Archbishop Kulbokas studied from 1994 to 2003 at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, our partner university in Rome, where he obtained his licentiate and later earned his doctorate. Vyacheslav Grynevych is also an alumnus of this university. The education they received there is bearing fruit, which is especially visible these days. Archbishop Kulbokas and Vyacheslav Grynevych are lighthouses and pillars of the Church in Ukraine and far beyond. We are deeply grateful for their strong witness of faith! Together with them, we also want to help the people in Ukraine.

This is why we ask you sincerely and from the bottom of our hearts:

Pray for the pacification of this region! In order to help alleviate the great need in Ukraine, we carried out a special fundraising campaign between May and August 2022: half of the donations received through this appeal were passed on directly to Caritas-Spes Ukraine in Kiev, where our alumnus, Vyacheslav Grynevych, who is responsible for the operational areas for this emergency aid.

Of course, our main focus remains on supporting the training of priests and candidates for the priesthood, especially at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce.

May this produce many more priests like Archbishop Kulbokas and Vyacheslav Grynevych! Because it is the well-trained priests of tomorrow who will advance spiritual construction in the destroyed areas and raise up the wounded souls – in Ukraine and in all crisis areas around the world. They need to be trained now. Please help with your prayers – and if at all possible – also with your generous donation!

Thank you for your generous support!