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Ukrainian Catholic Patriarch Sviatoslav, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), has responded to the Pope’s intention to Consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart. The headline, posted on the official information website of the UGCC, reads: “The Ukrainian people have long awaited this spiritual event.”
The article provides some of the background of Fatima and notes that in 2016 on an Patriarchal Visitation to Western Europe, on October 23, Patriarch Sviatoslav consecrated “Ukraine, Eastern Europe and the World to the Immaculate Heart” at a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Fatima, Portugal.
Also notable in the interview is that he says verbatim: “З початком повномасштабної війни наші вірні з різних куточків світу зверталися з проханням здійснити слова Пресвятої Богородиці у Фатімі” which translates as, “With the beginning of the full-scale war, our faithful from various parts of the world asked for the fulfillment of the words of the Most Holy Theotokos in Fatima.”
His Beatitude continued:
We are grateful to the Holy Father for responding in the first place to Mary’s call at the proclamation of July 13, 1917, in Fatima, and to our children’s request to defend Ukraine and stop ‘the errors of Russia, which promotes war and persecution of the Church.’
The Patriarch ended his comments by saying: “We entrust to the Immaculate Heart of Mary all our sufferings and hopes for peace in our long-suffering country.”
Mr. Predy is a Byzantine Catholic layman and co-founder of the Prayer League of the Holy Innocents and St. Stylianos. He is currently an undergraduate student in Humanities, with a previous college Diploma in Library and Information Technology. He assists his wife, Kyleshka, with her blog at TheByzantineLife.com, where he guest writes on Byzantine spirituality and tradition. He podcasts at The Orthodachs Show on The Byzantine Life Youtube channel, as well as being featured occasionally as a guest on The Meaning of Catholic. Mr. and Mrs. Predy live along the banks of the majestic South Saskatchewan River with their two children.