News from 2020:
100th Anniversary of St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church
in Prince Albert – August 23-2020
~ Submitted by St. George’s 100th Anniversary Committee ~
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. George in Prince Albert. We were planning a traditional celebration with a large gathering of parishioners and families, but due to Covid-19 this was not possible. The 100th Anniversary Committee felt it was important that we have a spiritual ceremony to remember and honour the founding members of our Church. It was decided that Sunday, August 23,2020 would be the date.
We were indeed pleased that Fr. Ivan Nahachewsky came from Saskatoon to celebrate the Divine Liturgy; he was assisted by Deacon Harrold Salahub. After the Liturgy, Father Ivan blessed the dedication plaque honouring the founding members of l920. Following the church service, we gathered at the South Hill Cemetery for the blessing of the graves. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day which lightened the hearts of all in attendance. Wreaths made of poppies and Canadian and Ukrainian flags adorned the founding members’ graves. After the Panakhyda Memorial Service, Deacon Harrold spoke briefly about the founding of St. George’s. He then introduced Linda Lysyk, the grandniece of founders Phillip and Cassie Lysyk, to present the story of the beginning of St. George’s Parish. Linda referenced a Ukrainian writing by Father Wolodymyr Iwaszko which told the story of the beginning of St. George’s.
Father Iwaszko was the parish priest from 1949 to 1954 and he wrote about how Ukrainians who lived in Prince Albert before 1920 tried to have Ukrainian Catholic Church services. Since there was no church building yet, these families would gather at the homes of Ukrainian immigrants. Many services were held at the home of Teodor Hadada who resided on 13th Street West. Priests from Alvena were invited, and at one time Ukrainians had three or four services a year with Father Andrukhovich. When no priest was available, these spiritually dedicated Ukrainian immigrants would gather regularly at their homes and have their own prayer services.
A bright light in the lonely and harsh world of the Ukrainian settlers was a visit by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky from Ukraine, in October of 1910. You can imagine the joy these brave people felt when they were able to participate in the Divine Liturgy at the then under-construction Roman Catholic Cathedral. Bishop Pascal recognized the importance of Metropolitan Sheptytsky’s visit and offered the cathedral for this very spiritual event to take place. Metropolitan Sheptytsky encouraged Ukrainian Catholics to construct their own Church and form a parish for the many new immigrants in the area. It was from that event that the seed was sown to get a parish church built.
In 1916/17 Ukrainian Catholic Churches were built in Samburg, Meath Park and Janow Corners. When priests went to Samburg and Janow Corners, they travelled through Prince Albert at which time the Ukrainian people in Prince Albert used the priests present to have Divine Liturgy. In 1919, Father Joseph Fylyma, the second priest from the new parish in Hafford, served the Samburg parish. In Autumn of 1919, Dymytro Hadada from Samburg proposed to the people that they invite Father Fylyma to visit Prince Albert and to start a parish. Father Fylyma met Dmytro’s brother, Teodor Hadada from Prince Albert. When Father Fylyma travelled through Prince Albert in the early winter of 1919, he had meetings after church services and encouraged Ukrainians in Prince Albert to organize and build their own church.
At the end of January 1920, a meeting was held at the home of Teodor Hadada to formalize the beginning of a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Prince Albert. Father Fylyma was present at the meeting along with eighteen people. They organized a committee: Teodor Hadada – Chairman, Antin Katamay – Secretary and Hryhoriy Pushka – treasurer. At their first official meeting it was decided to build their own church. Members would start by giving $25.00 a year. To make more money, the women organized many fund-raising activities. These activities usually took place at the Dyak’s home. The Dyak or Cantor was Mr. Kindrat Salyga, his wife was Katherine.
During the spring of l920, the parish community purchased two lots on 14th Street and 8th Avenue for $300.00; they started to build the Church. The members after working all day, gathered in the evenings and dug the basement. The contractor was Toma Kalyn. Other people helped him unconditionally. The cost of the church was $3,000.00. In the beginning, the church only had $350.00. The lack of funds did not break the spirit of the people, they continued to find ways to raise the money to get their church built.
The first Divine Liturgy in the church was served by Father Fylyma in Autumn of l921. At that time there was still scaffolding in the church. The church was lit by candles and oil lamps. In the morning, the Divine Liturgy was sung; in the afternoon was Vespers. At that time, 70 people attended services there. During the homily, Father Fylyma encouraged people to continue to be generous so that they can finish building the church. These great founders had so little, yet they gave from their meager incomes and because of their dedication and faith, the Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Prince Albert was born.
From the time the parish was organized until 1940, there was no resident priest in Prince Albert; the parish was visited as often as possible by the priest from Hafford. The first resident priest was Father Horoshko and under the guidance of many dedicated priests, our parish continued to grow in numbers. Today we have a vibrant parish where caring parishioners continue the work of our Founding Members.
Following the enlightening presentation, Father Ivan and Deacon Harrold proceeded to bless the graves of our Founders. It was a wonderful tribute to our Founding Members as several of their descendants were present.
Our Parish is in the process of publishing a 100th Anniversary Book which will be available later. During this Jubilee Year, we also received a new parish priest, Father Andrei Kachur. We are very happy to have him and look forward to working with him in this 100th year of our parish and beyond!
