JENKINTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Ukrainians in Greater Philadelphia say they are praying for an end to the fighting abroad.
Just hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Thursday morning, about a dozen people attended a special prayer service at St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jenkintown. It was the second such gathering since news of the Russian invasion broke Wednesday night.
It has been a difficult couple of days for the congregation. Bishop Andriy Rabiy, the pastor of St. Michael’s, grew up in Lviv, Ukraine, and has family on the western side of the country right now. Rabiy said he was shocked by Russia’s invasion of his homeland.
“Yes, there were warnings about it from the United States intelligence, British intelligence, Ukrainian intelligence — but nobody expected it's going to be so widespread and basically all along the Ukrainian border.”
Rabiy said about 50 people came to pray at an earlier prayer service overnight, at 1 a.m. He says the message is hope — that this conflict is resolved quickly, because they all have families still back in Ukraine.
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“As a community, we all need to come together and to pray for peace and for sovereignty for Ukraine. Ukraine is its own country. And I believe that it's important for all of us to stand together for it,” said Sofia Sulligan, whose grandparents were born in Ukraine. She says she still has family on the western side of the county.
"After I was done here, I was going to take my son to school and call them to see if they're planning on leaving or …," she said. "It’s hard. It's a hard thing to figure out if you're going to leave or not."
The bonds of sisterhood
The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, which runs several schools in Northeast Philadelphia and elsewhere in the region, currently have sisters stationed in Ukraine.
Sister Angela Marie Mazzeo, the superior general of the order, has been in communication with her fellow sisters, and she says just days ago they were not so safe.
"They were sharing what was happening kind of as it was happening and their experience hearing the explosions and seeing the panic of the people everything that has been reported on the news. They're just seeing in real life," Mazzeo said.
The sisters teach and provide religious education and activities for children. Some of them were from Poland and given an option to leave but chose to stay.
"One of our homes has been evacuated because it was in the easternmost part of Ukraine. So the sisters stayed for a little while, and they were praying with the families, but it was decided that it was better for them to evacuate," Mazzeo said.
"It's hard to look at such a situation and say, 'Okay, where is God in all of this?' But faith tells us that God is in charge. He brings good from even the most difficult circumstances."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth were relocated from Ukraine to Poland. The sisters remain in Ukraine.