Winnipeg visit from head of Ukrainian Catholic Church aims to ’keep spirits up’

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This article was published 25/02/2025 (247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church is bringing his message of hope to Winnipeg this weekend.

Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk will conduct a hierarchical divine liturgy on Sunday at the Cathedral of Saints Volodymyr and Olha at 11 a.m. and discuss the situation in his home country of Ukraine afterward.

“It’s exciting for us to have him here,” said Metropolitan Archbishop Lawrence Huculak, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy in Manitoba. “His visit will be a way to help people keep their spirits up, give them hope at this time.”

Shevchuk, the Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia since 2011, was in Toronto for a meeting with church leaders from Europe and the U.S. and decided to add a stop in Winnipeg, given its large population of Ukrainians, including refugees.

“It will be a chance for him to share about what is happening in Ukraine,” said Huculak, noting the last time Shevchuk visited was in 2012. “People are excited to hear him.”

Members of the church are frustrated and disappointed about what’s happening between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin with regard to the future of Ukraine, Huculak said.

Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, calling him a “dictator” whose country started the three-year war. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

“When Trump was elected, we expected changes, but not to this extent,” Huculak said, noting the church appreciates Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine.

Huculak expects the patriarch will remind members of past hardships that were overcome.

“The church has faced hard times in the past under the Nazis and during communism, with clergy sent to prison camps,” Huculak said. “Yet, we have survived. His visit will be a time to remember the past, the strength of our people, and be reminded not to lose faith during this trial.”

In a recent speech at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Shevchuk called for peace in Ukraine, saying anyone who says the war was caused by “NATO expansion or Russia’s security concerns” is repeating Russian propaganda.

He went on to say that “no one wants peace more than Ukrainians do. We didn’t start this war. Ukrainians need peace, but we want a just peace. We need a peace that will allow us to live in dignity, as Ukrainians, to be free, to worship in our churches.”

In addition to meeting some of the more than 5,000 members of Manitoba’s Ukrainian Catholic church, Shevchuk will also make a pastoral visit with Huculak, who has experienced health challenges recently.

“Even pastors need pastoral visits sometimes,” Huculak said.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church is independent, but in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. It has 25 parishes in the province, which includes 12 in Winnipeg.

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