“Our city, Lviv, has become a transit place for hundreds of thousands of people, all fleeing the bombings in central and eastern Ukraine. There is so much pain and so many tears. Mostly women and children arrive in Lviv. Men under the age of 60 cannot leave the country, because they have a duty to defend the country. Many of them take their families to the border and then return to fight”, said Fr. Mariusz Krawiec, of the Society of Saint Paul, a Polish missionary, who is superior of the small community of Lviv, where he is engaged in evangelization through the mass media, according to the Pauline charism. His words were reported by Fides News Agency.
“The life of our community has changed completely since February 24 last year, when early in the morning we heard a strange and frightening word: War! As a community, we decided to stay in Lviv. That was our choice. How can a shepherd leave his flock when it is in danger?”, says the priest, who explains: “As a Pauline religious community, we are a house of prayer and consolation for those who want to come. We have dedicated our energies in particular to the humanitarian service. Brother Tomek and Brother Adam transport people from the main train station to the reception centers every day. Not all of them cross the border: some have decided to stay in Ukraine. Around 200,000 refugees have stayed in the city because they do not want to leave Ukraine”.
Father Mariusz, who continues to work as a journalist for several newspapers, says that their home “has also become a place where journalists from Poland and other countries are welcome. The room where the editorial office was located is now a small logistics center for various relief services, in particular for the coordination of humanitarian aid”. The house is not very big, so it is not possible to take in refugees, but “sometimes someone suddenly comes in the evening, knocks on the door and asks to be allowed to stay with us at least for a while. The cases are different, but they all have a great human pain in common”. The Pauline community of Lviv is in constant contact with the sisters of the Pauline religious family: “Their community is 250 km away from us, in central Ukraine. They too welcome refugees and so far there are about 20 people with them. Some stay, others leave after two nights”. Father Mariusz concludes with the admonition: “Let us look to the future with great hope and pray for peace!”
