(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Catholic deacons group presented a check Monday to a Ukrainian Catholic school in Chicago that accepted dozens of student refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.
“It’s a sign of true Christian love,” Fr. Serhiy Kovalchuk, the rector of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Cathedral, said of the $10,000 donated to Cathedral School by the Diaconate Council of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“We noticed in the media the recent events about Ukraine and how this parish was bringing in the kids and we wanted to be a part of that,” Council Chairman Jim Sponder said.
Principal Anna Cirilli said some of the money will help pay student tuition. The money also will pay for additional staff who can serve as translators or English instructors, she said.
St. Nicholas Cathedral School took in 75 students from Ukraine the last school year. Forty-five are returning for the new academic year. The rest graduated or moved on to other schools in Chicago or London or have gone back to Ukraine.
Cirilli says there’s still a need to help: “The doorbell’s been ringing almost daily over the summer, so we started a wait list” for potential new students this coming academic year.
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