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Ukrainian bishops attend audience with Pope Francis during formation course for new bishops
September 23, 2024 – While attending the formation course for new bishops in the Vatican, during the traditional meeting with the Vicar of the Apostle Peter on September 19, 2024, seven bishops from Ukraine and two bishops from Canada addressed Pope Francis with a short word.
“I am Bishop Maksym Ryabukh, who came from Ukraine, from Donetsk. I am accompanied by six new bishops from Ukraine and two bishops from Canada,” Bishop Maksym Ryabukh began his address to the Holy Father Pope Francis on behalf of the Ukrainian hierarchs. First of all, the bishop expressed his gratitude for the number of bishops from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church present. “We want to thank you for the fact that there are so many of us here today. This is a sign of hope that the Church gives in these difficult years. Our people feel and perceive it. I also thank you for this sign of life. After all, being young, we are among people, without any obstacles or difficulties in communication. For example, this year I had to travel about 100,000 kilometres to find and visit people, parishes, communities, all those whose voices I represent today,” he said.
“On the other hand, we also bring here a testimony of life,” the auxiliary bishop from Donetsk continued. “You speak a lot about Ukraine, and we thank you for that. Because you are one of the few voices that the international community listens to. Thank you for all your efforts, not only verbally, but also for the efforts you make in silence, including efforts to free many of our prisoners. Among the latter were two released Redemptorist fathers who also personally asked me to convey their gratitude to you,” the bishop said. According to Bishop Maksym, the situation in Ukraine is very difficult now, but the Church continues to live amid all the dramas of life. “In particular, I came from the frontline area, and I do not feel that people today are losing faith in God. On the contrary, many are looking for Him. This is a moment when many people are asking questions of meaning, so the presence of faith and the Church becomes a huge support for them,” the bishop shared his testimony.
The Ukrainian bishops then presented Pope Francis with several gifts. The first of them was an icon of the Mother of God of Zarvanytsia from a famous pilgrimage site. “I am Bishop Theodore, who came from Mukachevo. This is an icon that one of our chaplains found in a house destroyed by rocket fire. And today we brought it here, to the home of all Catholics,” Bishop Theodore Matsapula, Bishop of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Eparchy, presented the gift. “I would like to add just one thing: every time Your Holiness calls the entire Catholic Church to prayer, all of us here feel God’s great help in the fight against evil,” Bishop Maksym Ryabukh concluded.
As a reminder, 267 newly appointed bishops – almost all of them ordained last year – from five continents gathered in Rome to take part in special training courses offered by various dicasteries of the Holy See from 15 to 22 September. The “September Meeting”, which has already become a tradition in the programming of the Roman Curia’s activities, is taking on unprecedented significance this year: For the first time, a significant part of the working sessions at the Pontifical University Urbaniana will be shared by both the bishops participating in the course organised by the Dicastery for Evangelisation (Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World and the Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches) and those participating in a similar training course organised by the Dicastery for Bishops. In particular, the course organised by the Dicastery for Evangelisation involves 114 bishops, and the course organised by the Dicastery for Bishops involves 153 participants. Among them are also 25 bishops of the Eastern Rite (the Dicastery is responsible for the Eastern Churches) and 5 newly ordained bishops working in the Roman Curia.
Press service of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.
Press service of the Synod of the UGCC.