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August 4, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On February 24, Russia initiated military action against Ukraine with attacks throughout the country, including in the capital city, Kyiv. Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Kyiv, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, appealed for prayers for the peace and safety of the Ukrainian people, reminding everyone to place hope in Christ, that “after night, there comes day…after darkness, there comes light, just as after death there comes resurrection.”
The Church in Ukraine is helping to share and foster this hope even amidst this violence. Though curfews keep the faithful from gathering in churches, “the Church will come to the people” by continuing to celebrate Mass and provide the Sacraments in bomb shelters and underground stations.
Pope Francis has called upon the Universal Church to pray and fast especially for peace in Ukraine. Catholics in the U.S. can also show their solidarity by participating in the annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE). The collection will help the Church in Ukraine bring the light of Christ to the faithful affected by the darkness of war, violence, and loss of families and homes and provide other essential funding in the region. Your support of this collection is a tangible way of assisting the Church’s response and outreach to those affected and displaced by the violence.
CCEE will be taken up in our diocese on the weekend of August 14. In addition to supporting relief efforts in the Ukraine, the collection also strengthens Catholic education, charitable programs and development of new lay leaders in 27 other countries which were subject for many decades to Communist regimes.
For more information about the collection and its beneficiaries, visit www.usccb.org/ccee. I ask that you keep these programs in your prayers and that you join our fellow Catholics in contributing generously to this collection. Thank you for your help to restore the Church and build the future in Central and Eastern Europe.
With every prayerful best wish, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester