Help to Repair a Church Tower in Ukraine 

Sudowa Wyschnja is a small town in West Ukraine. Its Latin Catholic parish and two sub-parishes are very lively and run by the Franciscans. There are about 350 parishioners, with many young families and different parish groups. The members of the Franciscan Third Order, or lay Franciscans, lovingly care for their church and help to make sure that the liturgy is celebrated well. There is a “living Rosary” group that prays the Rosary daily, and another group involved in social work, helping the elderly and the needy. There are regular catechetical sessions for children, young people, and adults, and many altar servers, too. 

During communist times, the church itself was almost totally destroyed and had to be rebuilt after the changes. But the church tower is now badly damaged, due to penetrating damp, rocket attacks, and heavy ground shocks from a nearby military base. Cracks have appeared, and large lumps of plaster are falling down, endangering people‘s lives and leaving the building unstable. The authorities have threatened to close the building, which the faithful can only enter through the sacristy.  

The parish priest, Father Berard Zadoyko, has asked us for help, so the walls of the tower can be stabilized and the loose plaster removed and replaced. We have promised him $21,610, so the Catholic faithful in Sudowa Wyschnja can once again worship safely inside their church.  

Code: 438-01-39