Pope Pius XI and the Order of the White Eagle

Polish Government officials have been playing politics with the Order of the White Eagle since it’s reconstitution in resurrected Poland in February 1921. Emblematic of this is the incident the occurred with the Vatican Ambassador, the Apostolic Nuncio, in April of that same year.

At the end of the First World War, Poland regained its independence after having been partitioned by the imperial powers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria between 1772 and 1793. A Polish State had been declared independent several times by one or more of the major European powers since 1793. In November 1918, under a charismatic revolutionary, Józef Piłsudski, Poland achieved independence on its own, even before the victorious Entente could concede it. A wave of national pride ensued that sometimes exceeded the bounds of ordinary patriotism. Throughout the coming two decades, it often manifested itself as form of national chauvinism that parallelled the ethno-nationalisms which would spread across Europe and eventually engulfed Germany.

            A few months prior to independence, in May 1918, the Holy See had dispatched the Prefect of the Vatican Library, Monsignor Achille Ratti, as envoy (Apostolic Visitor) to reconstruct the Catholic Church and its hierarchy which had been reduced to a sorry state under Prussia and Russia. Ratti was to recommend candidates for the largely vacant episcopal sees, take stock of the situation, and return to Rome before Christmas. His itinerary had to be modified following Polish independence. The interim government asked for Ratti to be named Apostolic Nuncio, the first papal ambassador to Poland since 1796. In the meantime, he had fallen in love with Poland and, to further good relations, chose to be consecrated a bishop in Warsaw on 19 October 1919. On the invitations, he wrote that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he was being reborn as a Pole: Non sine Sanctissimi Patris beneplacito, cui placuit ut qua Episcopis certo quodam modo Polonus in Spiritu Sancto renascar.

            Ratti had been chosen for the post because he was perceived to be neutral, and he quickly established an excellent raport with the Church hierarchy and with Piłsudski and his ministers. His popularity reached an apex in August 1920, when the Bolsheviks drove Piłsudski’s conquering army out of Ukraine all the way back to the gates of Warsaw. This highly mythologized episode is known in Polish history as “The Miracle of the Vistula.”  

During the crisis, Ratti received the diplomatic corps daily at the Apostolic Nunciature to discuss the deteriorating situation. The Nuncio received orders from the Vatican to accompany the Government, as it prepared to abandon the capital. The entire diplomatic corps got on a special train to Poznań, but Ratti ordered his staff to take refuge in Vienna. As to himself, he remained in Warsaw with the last member of the Government, the Foreign Minister, Prince Eustachy Sapieha. By the time the Red Army was driven back and the city saved, the Nuncio’s prestige had been considerably strengthened. He had been the only member of the diplomatic corps to have remained.

Ratti was enamored by Polish culture and religious piety but because critical of Polish chauvinism during its conflicts with Lithuania and Western Ukraine. The old fashioned values preached by the social elites and the demonstrative piety of the simple folk stood in stark contrast with the rising ethno-nationalism preached by Roman Dmowski and his National Democratic Party (ND or Endecja). By the time the Polish borders were settled in 1921, the population was made up of two third ethnic Poles and one third ethnic minorities (mainly Ukrainians, Jews and Germans). Piłsudski sought to anchor this diverse national identity in loyalty to the Polish State, while Dmowski and the Endeks sought to assimilate the minorities. When social prejudice and legal discrimination did not work, they resorted to violence.

            Neither Ratti nor the nuncios who succeeded him could do much to mitigate this intolerance. Polish chauvinism became a constant preoccupation for the nuncio and his reports, especially from the middle of 1919 onward, are full of concern for its consequences for the Catholic Church and the nation. The Holy See were worried that, through exaggeration and reprisals, Poland might create too many enemies within and without, thus endangering its very survival.

Archbishop Ratti succeeded only in mitigating the worst reprisals but endemic abuse and discrimination was destined to become more violent in the coming decade. The “hypersensitive” Poles (in Ratti and his secretary’s own words) demanded unconditional support from the Holy See and even interpreted church decisions according to political paradigms. 

A wave of patriotic outrage brought an end to Achille Ratti’s mission in Poland. The occasion were plebiscites ordered by the Versailles Treaty fop territories with a mixed German and Polish population, especially Upper Silesia. An Allied Commission had been appointed to monitor the plebiscite as the situation in Upper Silesia deteriorated into warfare. The Polish Episcopate also asked the Holy See to appoint an “ecclesiastical commissioner” because the higher clergy and social elites of the region were almost all German whereas the lower clergy and general population was mostly Polish. After considering several candidates, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, settled on the Nuncio. 

Ratti was supposed to remain an impartial observer and coordinate the Church’s response with the local Archbishop, Cardinal Bertram, who was a German. Ratti’s warnings to Rome of the “gravity of the situation and the unreliability of Bertram” went unheeded.  Bertram published a decree limiting the participation of the lower clergy (mostly Poles) and claimed he had done so with the blessing of the Nuncio. Outmaneuvered, Ratti returned to Warsaw and sought to save the nunciature’s credibility by issuing a clarification. From the Vatican, Gasparri refused to allow this, fearing that this would only inflame the situation.

Both Germans and Poles accused Ratti of being favourable to the opposing side and he was violently attacked in the Polish press. A motion was brought forward in Polish Parliament to expel the nuncio but was defeated. Even the Polish hierarchy privately expressed bitter disappointment, believing that Ratti had not properly informed the Holy See or impeded Bertram from acting against Polish interests. 

Ratti dispatched a strongly worded letter to Gasparri, offering to act as a scape goat if it would preserve the honour of the Holy See. At the same time, he astutely sent his secretary to Rome to clarify his conduct. Gasparri accepted that Ratti had only followed instructions and accepted responsibility himself. Pope Benedict XV wrote a very personal letter to Ratti, in an intimate style that was virtually unknown between pontiffs and their underlings: 

 

My Dear Monsignor, I heartily reciprocate your good wishes. Your letter, however, was tinged with sadness, not for personal reasons – indeed, I admired your ability to spiritualize even very earthly events – but for reasons that were almost official. Unfortunately, it’s true that your situation has become delicate and difficult. I would never have believed that the Poles had such a cavalier character as to surpass that of the French. Perhaps this is because they had become unaccustomed to governing. They appear excessively reverential yet particularly distrustful of the Holy See, which has done so much for them. I therefore understand your current sorrow, but I believe that time will dissipate the clouds, because Deus et dies [God and time] are the best comforts. In any case, even if some people show that they no longer appreciate you, you can count on Our esteem and benevolence. May the Lord bless you all.

Yours most affectionately

Benedictus PP. XV

From the Vatican, 6 January 1921

 

The attacks did not end there. When Gasparri’s responsibility became known, the Government asked the Catholic Episcopate to intervene. Archbishop Teodorowicz and Prince-Bishop Sapieha bitterly attacked Gasparri’s handling of the incident. Teodorowicz also attacked Ratti in the Polish Senate. A wave of anti-Vatican sentiment reached its apex, even in the Catholic press.  

Despite the many voices of support, Achille Ratti’s position had become irreparably compromised. As the Polish historian, Monsignor Walerian Meysztowicz, commented: “In the summer of 1921, the great popularity that Archbishop Ratti had gained in Poland, less than a year before, was no more.”  He had become a persona non grata in the eyes of Church and State, because they saw him as having failed to take the side of the nation which had accepted him as one of their own. And the future Cardinal Hlond wrote: "Notwithstanding the benevolent and most courteous appearances, Monsignor Ratti has left, neither rehabilitated in public opinion nor in the judgment of the very episcopate which owes to him its own reconstruction."

In spite of his loss of popularity in Poland, Achille Ratti’s firmess and fidelity had brought him a great deal merit in the eyes of the Pope, who intended to save him by promoting him, or promoveatur ut admoveatur as is said in Vatican circles.  On 18 April 1921, the Nuncio received a telegram from the Cardinal Secretary of State announcing that Pope Benedict was appointing him Archbishop of Milan. On 17 May, another telegram informed him that the Pope intended to elevate him to the cardinalate in June. His departure on 4 June was accorded the customary formalities but with a lack of warmth or special gratitude. Noticeable was the fact that the government had not decorated him with Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle.

A strange corollary to this episode occurred eleven months later, on the eve of the conclave that followed the death of Benedict XV in January 1922. After Ratti’s name appeared among possible candidates, the Polish Government hastily conferred the White Eagle upon him, presenting him the insignia the day before he entered the conclave. Elected as Pope Pius XI on 6 February 1922, he never forgot the lessons he learned while serving as the nuncio in Warsaw, especially the danger to Church interests posed by nationalist chauvinism. 

Throughout the next 17 years, he waged a battle of wills with the statesmen and churchmen alike, in an attempt to counter the chauvinistic inclinations in Polish society. Piłsudski, who became dictator in 1926, constantly complained about the disloyalty of the Catholic episcopacy. Cardinal Hlond, the Primate of Poland's analysis of the ideological conflicts between Church and state, contained in a secret report to the Vatican in 1932, makes very interesting reading. 

The relations between Poland and the Holy See deteriorated after the strongman’s death in 1935. Emblematic of this was the fact that the position of Polish Ambassador to the Holy See was left vacant during the last fourteen months of Pius XI’s pontificate. The government sent lengthy memoranda to the Vatican denouncing the Catholic clergy of both Latin and Greek Rites and began expelling foreign-born priests and religious. The unenviable situation ended only with the outbreak of the Second World War and the demise of the Second Republic, in September 1939. 

Only one other Pope was destined to receive the White Eagle. John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) became the first recipient of the Order after it was reestablished in 1993 by the post-communist Third Republic.

Exiles: Hnizdovsky in the Vatican Archive

Jacques Hnizdovsky is well known among Ukrainian communities on five continents for his delightful engravings and artwork. I have always admired his graphic arts especially his woodcuts of cats and sheep. So, what a delight it was to find him, a few months ago, in the Vatican Archive. I say “find him” because he was not only mentioned in correspondence to the Apostolic See but there is also a sample of his art in the files. 

Since December, I have been working on a project centred around DP (Displaced Persons) that emigrated to western Canada at the end of the 1940s. Among these were a group of Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests with their wives and children. Sometimes they were also preceded or followed by parents and siblings. These families were caught up in the great population displacement that occurred due to invading Soviet and Nazi armies that caused the Second World War. The conflict left destroyed and displaced entire communities, families, and individuals, and ended with the re-drawing of the interwar European national borders. 

The Soviet Union advanced westward to encompass most ethnographic Ukrainian and Belarusian territories. Minorities on all sides of the Iron Curtain were moved and ethnically cleansed to reflect the agreements concluded at Yalta in Crimea between Stalin and the western Allies. Ukrainians who had fled Russian occupation were threatened by the Allies with forced repatriation to the “Soviet Motherland,” which would result in their execution or, at best, imprisonment in the vast Gulag. Even those who had come from Ukrainian SSR most often sought asylum in the West. Such clemency was contingent upon the willingness of western governments to accept these refugees and in their ability to find gainful employment.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv, Kyr Ivan Buchko, was himself a Displaced Person. He had been stranded in Rome since 1941, when the Nazis refused him permission to return to Lviv from a fact-finding mission in South America. From his residence at the Ukrainian seminary atop the Janiculum Hill, he dedicated himself to the spiritual and material interests of Ukrainian refugees before the Apostolic See (Vatican). At the Vatican’s behest, Buchko founded a Ukrainian Refugee Committee for Italy at the end of the war. A few months later, Pope Pius XII appointed him “Apostolic Visitor” over Ukrainian DPs in Italy and, a year later, to most of the countries of Western Europe. 

Buchko’s first task was to visit DP camps and hostels and establish networks of pastoral ministry in at least eight European countries. He advocated for clergy and laity and succeeded in gaining Vatican aid and assistance for individuals, groups, and funding for various cultural and educational ventures (such as the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Munich and Paris, subsidized entirely by the Holy See). Buchko sought to intercede for each person who approach him for help regardless of their religious affiliations, and a number of Orthodox bishops, clergy, and laity became the recipients of his kindness. Most sought to emigrate from refugee camps to the Americas and Australia. After Kyr Ivan’s jurisdiction was extended to include Germany, he spent three months visiting the camps and hostels in Germany and Austria, from May to August 1948. Upon his return to Rome, he submitted a report on the 700,000 Ukrainians still living in refugee camps of those countries.  

In 1946, in a refugee camp near Munich, 33-year-old Ukrainian artist Yakiv (Jacques) Hnizdovsky attempted to express and remember the life of Ukrainian DPs in a painting which he called Скитальці (Exiles). Lithographs made of the it that same year give the title of the painting in English as "Homeless." This painting came to symbolise the plight of Ukrainian DPs and was eventually reproduced on the cover of CIUS's 1992 The Ukrainian Refugee Experience.

Unable to adequately describe the harrowing life of his fellow countrymen in the camps, Buchko included a coloured lithographic reproduction of Hnizdovsky’s painting. In his letter to the Pope, Buchko also mentioned Hnizdovsky by name. And in a cover letter addressed to Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Paul VI), the bishop lambasted the treatment of his people by the I.R.O. and complained that the Holy See was poorly represented at that organization’s headquarters. Both letters, written in Italian, are reproduced here in translation.

Hnozdovsky painting "Exiles"

Bishop Ivan Buchko to Pope Pius XII

Rome, 2 August 1948

 

A new appeal to Christian charity on behalf of refugees.

 

Most Holy Father,

Following the august command of Your Holiness given to me at the last audience of 27 July, I take the liberty of reproducing in writing my most humble suggestion regarding the fervent desire of the refugees residing in Germany and Austria, together with their plea that Your Holiness deign to once again direct a paternal appeal to Christian charity on their behalf, and to the extent possible, during this coming October, when the Apostolate of Prayer, in accordance with the intention approved by Your Holiness, will pray for the spiritual assistance of the emigrees.

As an expression of the Ukrainian refugees’ feelings of filial love and profound gratitude to Your Holiness, I have only briefly touched on the misery they endure in the camps, and even worse, outside the camps, as I personally witnessed during the last three months of my Apostolic Visit to Germany and Austria. Among the approximately 700,000 Ukrainian refugees who have so far been unable to emigrate to find a new homeland, work, and peace, it would be difficult for me to attempt to describe the living conditions of the refugees in the camps; indeed, it would be entirely impossible to paint in all their colours their state of mind, their fear, and their desperation. I would like to add here a copy of a painting by a Ukrainian painter, Mr. Jacques Hnizdowskyj, illustrating the life of refugees in the camps in the evening. This painting gives an idea of ​​the common living conditions experienced by the majority of refugees, which have been going on for three years now, and for some of them even twice as long, that is, since 1942, when they were transported to Germany for forced labour. 

It is true that refugees are not allowed to starve, especially those living in camps administered by the I.R.O., from which they earn the bare minimum of a living, but such a life is becoming increasingly unbearable. Thus, as their desperation grows, especially in light of the rumours of impending war, cases of nervous illnesses and complete exhaustion are multiplying, which sometimes end in suicide in those with little religious foundations.

For two years now, the emigration of refugees from German and Austrian territories to Western European countries and the Americas has been ongoing, and this emigration seems to be accelerating in recent times. However, it is a shame to humanity that this so-called “aid” for refugees is not based on the principles of Christian charity, but rather on the principles of commerce, where human feelings are trampled upon. The adapted system is called labour recruitment, under which the agencies of the various countries, under agreements with the employment authorities, have the right to select from among the so-called displaced persons (D.P.s) the most physically fit individuals for physical labour in the given country. It is true that under this system preference is given to single, unmarried people, but it is also true that a large portion of the married people were recruited and left from Germany and Austria, leaving their families in the camps or outside the camps. As a result, there are often cases where the groom or bride, having arrived at their new destination, forget their obligations to the abandoned families and live a concubinary life. Reports from Western European countries (Belgium, England) are very sad in this regard. Recently, the Australian government has been recruiting men to provide labour in Australia under the express condition that the families must remain in Europe until the housing problem in Australia is resolved. There is no doubt that if this system continues – a large portion of the refugee families will be ruined, and the dependents of the migrant workers will be condemned to certain and rapid death in the poorhouses in Germany or Austria.

Of course, the refugee problem is difficult and complicated. It is certain that every government, beyond the desire to come to the aid of the poor refugees, will also have the interests of its own nation before its eyes and consequently has the right to admit individuals into its country whose presence will contribute to the development of that country. It would be asking too much of governments to open the doors of their countries to all refugees, even individuals.

But on the other hand, it is true that the precarious nature of the problem arises from the international situation, and consequently human society should grant refugees unfit for repatriation some asylum and protection combined with humane treatment and stop treating them as objects of merchandise based on the principles of selfishness. The divine commandment to love one's neighbour applies today as it has always applied to every man, including those in government.

An excellent solution to the problem would be to allow immigration from some of the countries where all refugees of one nationality are present. If, however, this solution is not feasible for any reason, the principle of family consideration should be at least unconditionally observed, allowing the recruited worker to take with him all dependent family members—not only the wife and children, but also the parents and minor siblings, both on his and his wife's side. It is absolutely necessary to permanently break the current system of separating family members; a system brutally practiced in the Soviet Union.

It is equally essential to consider the spiritual needs of the recruited worker, ensuring he receives spiritual assistance during travel and at the workplace. Each group of 100 workers should be joined by a priest, if not several members of the intellectual class, to assist the immigrants in their religious and cultural needs. Christian charity will certainly find a way to help the emigration of intellectuals and professionals who are not suited to physical labour, nor will it leave without help the most unfortunate victims of war: invalids, the elderly, widows, orphans.

The refugees are confident that Your Holiness's paternal appeal will awaken Christian consciences and open the hearts of the wealthy to their unfortunate brothers who have lost everything, including their homeland, in order to save their lives and the Catholic faith.

Your Holiness, during my last trip on the Apostolic Visit of the Ukrainians to Germany and Austria, I heard complaints from the refugees that the Catholics of various wealthy countries—especially those overseas—have shown little interest in the matter, compared to the activities of the various Protestant Churches on behalf of the refugees. To dispel these rumours, I would like to suggest one more thing, which, in addition to Your Holiness's Fatherly Message, would also be very effective in sparking the interest of Catholics around the world in the refugee problem, while also bringing great consolation to the refugees themselves. I most humbly ask Your Holiness to convene an international congress of charitable organizations in Rome, together with the Apostleship of Prayer, on the occasion mentioned above, that is, next October, for the purpose of deliberating and seeking ways to resolve the refugee problem according to the principles of Christian charity. 

Prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, I beg your Paternal Apostolic Blessing for my Ukrainian people, so sorely tried, especially for that portion in exile scattered across almost all the countries of the world, and I profess to be

Your Holiness’ most devoted, most humble, most respected son

+Ivan Bučko, Titular Bishop of Cadi

Apostolic Visitor

 

Bishop Ivan Buchko to Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini

 

Rome, 2 August 1948

 

Your Excellency,

 

I humbly beg Your Excellency to present at the feet of His Holiness my attached letter, concerning the refugees’ plea for a new appeal from the Holy Father on their behalf.

            On this occasion, I feel it is my duty in conscience to inform Your Excellency more precisely about the refugees’ complaints, as if the assistance provided thus far by Catholic organizations on their behalf was grossly inadequate compared to the charitable work of Protestant organizations, not to mention Jewish organizations.

I have heard the same objection from Catholic members of the British Military Government in Germany (Colonel Anthony Coventry). In particular, these objections are made against the Vatican Migration Office with its headquarters in Geneva, under the direction of the Most Reverend Father Edward Killion, CSSR. His news of the creation of the aforementioned Office by the Holy See was of great comfort to the refugees, but subsequent realities would have demonstrated that too much trust on the part of the refugees was illusory – these are the words of the refugees who turned to the aforementioned Office in their cases.

I do not know exactly what form the Vatican Migration Office would have, but I could guess that the purpose of creating such an Office would have been close contact with the I.R.O. Headquarters in Geneva, the care of the interests of the emigration refugees, especially in cases of appeal made by a given refugee from the unjust decision of the I.R.O. employees. In Germany and Austria, or in other countries, the majority of whose employees are non-Catholic; there are also pro-Communists among them who dare to insult Catholic refugees. Sometimes their decisions are to the material and moral detriment of the refugees.

It was clear that the Office's primary concern would be to ensure the spiritual assistance of individual groups of refugees traveling as workers both in European and overseas countries, and the I.R.O. refused to transport them if the agencies recruiting the labour force did not consider this, so important in the refugees' lives. Generally speaking, the Vatican Migration Office should have served as the Centre for Emigration Affairs, which operates on-site in the individual military occupation zones of Germany and Austria.

            On my return from my trip, I found myself in Geneva to consult with the heads of the I.R.O. on matters concerning the fate of the Ukrainian refugees. On that occasion, I paid a respectful visit to the Most Reverend Father Killion, CSSR, Director of the Office in question, at his headquarters, namely the Wilson Palace. To be honest, I found this Office very modest, perhaps too much so compared to other similar offices. It occupies a single small room, in which the Most Reverend Father Director works, employing a typist who, in addition, is in poor health and must be absent frequently. From the friendly conversation I had with the Most Reverend Father Director, I learned that, despite his excellent will, he is not capable of attending to and handling all the business assigned to his Office. The very authority of the Holy See, whose name the Office bears, would require the Office to be somewhat more fully equipped. He feels the lack of some employee who could replace him, at least during office hours, when he himself must travel to the headquarters of the I.R.O. Heads.

I humbly ask Your Most Reverend Excellency to accept on this occasion the expressions of my profound veneration and respect, with which I am grateful to be able to reaffirm myself as always,

Your Excellency’s most devoted Servant

 

[Note: Father Killion and the Vatican representation at the I.R.O. had interceded successfully for Ukrainian refugees on many occasions since July 1947].

Lettera smarrita della vedova del colonnello Montezemolo

This post was is written in Italian with a view to reproducing the pertinent documentation and out of respect for the late Colonel Montezemolo's family and the Italian Resistance. 

Solo una volta, in 27 anni di ricerche negli archivi vaticani, mi era capitato di trovare un documento sigillato il cui contenuto non era mai stato esaminato. Oggi è successo di nuovo. Attualmente sto esaminando i fascicoli della Prima Sezione della Segreteria di Stato Pontificia relativi al periodo tra il 1936 e il 1958, alla ricerca di materiale riguardante l'Ucraina. Effettuando una ricerca per parole chiave utilizzando l'indice digitalizzato di questi fascicoli dell'Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, mi sono imbattuto in altri nomi interessanti. Uno di questi era: "Marchesa Montezemolo chiede un automezzo Vaticano le trasporti a Roma da Perugia 5 biciclette di sua proprietà". Ho correttamente supposto che si trattasse della vedova dell'eroe di guerra della Resistenza italiana, il colonnello Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo.

Molti associano la Resistenza italiana ai partigiani comunisti, ma Montezemolo era un aristocratico fedele alla monarchia italiana e un cattolico devoto. Dopo l'occupazione tedesca di Roma, si unì alla resistenza e la sua famiglia si nascose. Suo figlio Andrea, futuro cardinale, si nascose per diversi mesi nel seminario ucraino (il Pontificio Collegio di San Giosafat), fino alla liberazione di Roma da parte degli Alleati nel giungo 1944, mentre suo padre viene catturato dai Nazisti in gennaio e giustiziato alle Fosse Ardeatine le 24 marzo 1944.

Il fascicolo che ho esaminato conteneva due documenti dall'inizio di agosto 1944, o almeno così sembrava. Il primo era una lettera dell'Ambasciata italiana alla Santa Sede e il secondo una busta indirizzata dalla vedova di Montezemolo, Amalia, soprannominata "Juccia." Dopo aver trascritto il primo documento, ho notato che la busta indirizzata alla contessa Nina Guiglia Sartorio era sigillata con lo stemma di Montezemolo e non era mai stata aperta e neppure spedita a destinazione, ma rimasta sigillata per 80 anni, fino a stamattina. Ho chiesto il permesso al personale di aprire la busta, che conteneva non una, ma ben tre lettere: le prime due della marchesa Montezemolo alla sua amica contessa Sartorio, e la terza di Lydia, la figlia maggiore dei Montezemolo, alla figlia della sua amica "Esa" Sartorio. La terza lettera è controfirmata anche dalle altre sorelle, Isolda e Amalia.

Di seguito le trascrizioni dei documenti in parola:

R. Ambasciata d’Italia

presso la Santa Sede

                                                                     Roma 8 Agosto 1944

            Eccellenza Reverendissima,

                                                            mi sono permesso di chiedere l’altro giorno il Suo intervento per un opera buona che interessa la famiglia del compianto Colonnello Montezemolo.

            Si tratta cioè di ottenere che uno dei mezzi del Vaticano transitanti per Perugia possa portare a Roma 5 biciclette lasciate colà (presso la Contessa Nina Guiglia Sartorio, Billa “Il Boschetto”– Monterone, Perugia) dalla Marchesa Montezemolo.

            La famiglia di questa povera signora composta di ben 5 figli si trova in ogni difficoltà per la precarietà dei mezzi di comunicazione e sarebbe per essa un grande sollievo il poter ritirare le biciclette.

            Seguendo il Suo consiglio ho fatto scrivere una lettera dalla Marchesa Montezemolo alla sua amica contenente l’autorizzazione a ritirare le biciclette.

            Veda Lei se dalla cortesia del Governatorato sia possibile affidare l’incarico a persona di fiducia. Il Conte Faina del quale parlammo era purtroppo già partito.

            Con vivissimi ringraziamenti Le rinnovo, Eccellenza Reverendissima, l’espressione del mio deferente ossequio.

                    Roma 4 VIII – 44

            Carissima Nina,

la tua cara lettera con le due suave parole mi ha fatto tanto bene …. se sapessi quanto ho sofferto e quanto soffro! Non mi rendo conto di come io possa continuare a vivere … Prego Dio che mi dia la forza di andare avanti giorno per giorno e di pensare solo ai bambini e a Papà e Mamma.

Ho tanto pensato a te quando ho saputo lo strazio che ti ha colpita, soltanto quando uno soffre molto può comprendere il dolore degli altri…. ho pregato con le bambine perché il Signore ti sostenesse e ti consolasse. Sarò tanto contenta di poterti riabbracciare, voglio sperare che ti faccia presto una gita a Roma - Anche le bambine, che ricordano sempre le tue con tanto affetto, desiderano molto di rivederle –

        Mi ha fatto molto piacere di sentire che la battaglia si è passata vicina senza molestarti troppo. Il Boschetto è stato proprio benedetto da Dio …..

Immagino quali saranno le tue ansie per i tuoi cari di Genova, io pure sono in continuo pensiero per Papà e Mamma di cui non ho più avuto notizie dal 25 maggio. Chissà quando potremo rivederli…. Che Dio ci aiuti tutti e salvi la nostra povera Italia ! Ti prego di dire a Don Giuseppe tutto la parte che prendo ai suoi lutti, ho sentito da tuo marito le tragedie dei suoi nipoti, digli anche che preghi un po’ per me, perché ne ho tanto, tanto bisogno….

        Ti abbraccio, cara, con la speranza di rivederti presto, e ti ringrazio di aver pensato di mandarmi la cappelliera, che mi è venuta molto utile.

                                                                                 tua Juccia.

 

6 - agosto- 1944.

            Carissima Nina,

riapro la lettere che attendevo di consegnare a tuo marito per aggiungervi questo soglio. Il ministro presso il Vaticano mi offre l’occasione di farmi trasportare le biciclette, di cui ho immenso bisogno e mi avverte che spera di poter mandare un camion della Santa Sede (di transito a Perugia) a prenderla direttamente al Boschetto, ti prego perciò di consegnarle senz’altro a chi ti porterà questa lettera. Se per caso ti vedessi che sul camion si fosse ancora posto, e se fossero disposti a caricare, ti pregherei di mandarmi anche altro; di tutto ho bisogno, perciò qualunque cosa mi verrà utile specialmente il forno perché qui si fa una vita impossibile per cucinare e a Roma i forni da campagna costano da 1000 lire in su! (Del letto non ho bisogno).

Pensa la noia e ancora affettuosissimi saluti, baci ai cari piccoli.

                                                                                                       Juccia.

 

            Cara Esa,

Ti ringrazio molto della Tua lettera che ci hai portato Tuo padre; da molto tempo solevo risponderTi ma aspettavo di sapere quando sarebbe ripartito per Perugia, purtroppo però non l’abbiamo saputo e approfitto perciò di questa occasione per scriverti e ringraziarti tanto tutti della parte che avete preso al nostro grande dolore e delle Vostre preghiere che ci sono di gran conforto. 

    Ci ha fatta molta pena la notizia della perdita della Vostra cara Nonna ala quale eravate tanto affezionate; si siano tanto vicine col cuore in questo momento così doloroso anche per voi.

Tuo padre ci ha detto che forse fra qualche tempo verrete a Roma per continuare gli studi siano proprio contente al pensiero di rivederci presto –

Tutti i venerdì andiamo a Trinità [dei Monti] dove restiamo tutta la mattina, dopo la messa, in giardino a chiacchierare e a lavorare con le madri.

Ieri abbiamo visto Eugenia Sansonetti che è arrivata da Mottola, si fermerà qui qualche giorno col padre e con la madre e poi ripartirà. Parliamo sovente di voi con le compagne e con le madri e tutte rimpiangono molto la vostra mancanza. Ti prego di salutari i Forti e di dare un bacio a Raggi e a Checco da parte nostra.

Devoti saluti alla vostra Mammina, a Te e a Amma un abbraccio affettuoso da Lydia.

                         Tanti saluti da Isolda

                              Adriana

Kushnir and the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain 80th

Rev. Voyakovsky, Kushnir, Jean, Malynovsky, Germany 1946

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB). To mark this occasion, I searched  through my research from archives in the Vatican, London, and Canada, and came upon a report by Reverend Vasyl Kushnir of Winnipeg (1893–1979) which mentioned his work among the Ukrainian refugees (Displaced Persons or DPs) in Britain and  Western Europe. The report was addressed to Cardinal Eugène Tisserant of the Vatican Congregation pro Ecclesia Orientali (today known as the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches).  Kushnir had received and affidavit from his own Bishop, Vasily Ladyka. After arriving in London he received another testimonial letter from the papal representative, Archbishop William Godfrey. This document provided an entré to the offices of Catholic officials and charitable organisations on the European Continent. Kushnir's meeting with Godfrey, which took place on 15 January 1946, was arranged through Vladimir de Korostovetz and Danylo Skoropadsky. They were Orthodox Christians who held the Holy See in high regard and had become Godfrey's principal source on Ukrainian affairs. They were also founding members and founding leaders of AUGB. 

After completing his inspection of the DP camps and settlements in Europe, Kushnir presented a report to Cardinal Tisserant, the excerpts of which concerning Great Britain I reproduce here:

Rome, April 1st 1946            

MEMORANDUM

Re: Mission of Mercy to the displaced Ukrainians in Western Europe by Rev Dr Basil Kushnir, diocesan priest of Ukrainian catholic Diocese in Canada.

 

Your Eminence,

         As delegate of “Ukrainian Canadian Relief Fund” on a special mission of mercy to the displaced Ukrainians in Western Europe, I consider it as my duty to make to Your Eminence a report on conditions of those people living in different countries I visited.

         The Ukrainian Canadians were deeply and justly concerned, for obvious reasons, with the welfare of a large number of Ukrainians displaced and stranded in Western Europe as a result of the war.

         In consequence “The Ukrainian Canadian Relief Fund” of which I am the president, moved by such concern and Christian charity has made preparations and actions taken to render these unfortunates all the material assistance and moral and spiritual guidance withing their power; for that purpose I have been delegated as a messenger of charity in such a mission to Europe.

         My mission has been sponsored by Canadian Government, British Foreign and War Offices, Canadian and International Red Cross Associations and commended by my highest Ecclesiastical Authorities, His Eminence Cardinal Villeneuve of Quebec, my own Bishop Ladyka of Winnipeg and His Excellency Archibishop William Godfrey, Apostolic Delegate in London.

         During my mission from December 23rd 1945 until March 31st 1946, I visited the following countries: Great Britain, Belgium, France, Germany (British and American Zones), and Italy. I have still to visit Switzerland and Austria. [...]

         In Great Britain I started my mission on the 7th day of January 1946. I visited the camps in the neighbourhood of London, the Ukrainian Catholic community in Manchester and the Ukrainians in Polish forces in Edinburgh. The conditions of those people are in moral and physical aspect satisfactory. During the war, it was the Ukrainian Catholic chaplain [Mykhaylo Horoshko] carried out his pastoral duties for Canadian Ukrainians soldiers and for civilians, especially in Manchester. Now, after the demobilisation of the chaplain, the religious care for these people in Great Britain is a problem. While staying in London, I approached the people in authority in British Foreign Office, War Office, and the House of Lords. The purpose of the contact was to create a favourable opinion in regards the DPs, moreso as, at that time, the United Nations Conference was deliberating in London.

As a result of this contact on behalf of the Ukrainians Central Relief Bureau in London, sponsored by Ukrainian Canadian Relief Fund, I presented a memorandum to the Conference asking for DPs the right of asylum and urging [the UN] to denounce forced repatriation as incompatible with the concept of human liberty. This memorandum has been presented also to all the delegations at the conference and to the press. The London press and especially the Catholic press made, in this respect, very favourable comments.

A Report on the inaugural meeting of the AUGB was published in Nash klych, on 9 February 1946, of which an English translation may be found here.

Its is like that the vaguely identified locati0ns spoken of in the report are the following:

The Orthodox was celebrated at "Saint Mary's Cathedral" likely  the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The Greek Catholics celebrated at "the Roman Catholic Church of the Armed Forces" likely Saint Mary's RC Cathedral. Besides Father Kushnir, Rev. Major Hodys, Greek Catholic Chaplain in the Polish Armed Forces, is identified.

The meeting ws held at "the church hall of St. Mary’s Cathedral." There is still some debate as to which St. Mary's because the only existing photograph of the participants appears to have been taken at another location.  Having been elected honorary chair of the meeting, Kushnir's speech on the Canadian involvement and support in founding the AUGB is significant.

Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak

To mark Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak's 75th birthday, Memorable Manitobans (a webpage of the Manitoba Historical Society) has published this short biography, which I put together with the help of my friend and colleague June Dutka, Librarian Emeritus of the University of Manitoba, and Gordon Gainsborough of the MHS. 

Born at Vernon, British Columbia on 25 January 1951, one of six children of Andrew Huculak (1921–1974) of Lanigan, Saskatchewan and Katherine Marcyniuk (1923–2019) of western Ukraine, he attended elementary and secondary schools in Vernon and a final year of high school at Saint Vladimir’s College in Roblin, administered by the Redemptorist Fathers.

On 30 June 1969, he entered the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (OSBM). During his candidacy at the Basilian House of Studies in Ottawa, he also studied at the University of Ottawa, completing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and arts in 1974. On 1 September 1971, he began his novitiate at Saint Josaphat’s Monastery in Glen Cove, Long Island, completing it on 3 September 1972 by professing first temporary vows in the Order. From 1974 to 1977, he studied theology at the Pontifical Athanaeum of Saint Anselmo. During this time, he lived at the nearby Basilian Monastery of Christ the Pantocrator. On 26 June 1977, he made his professed Solemn Perpetual Vows.

Father Lawrence was ordained a priest by Bishop Jerome Chimy on Sunday, 28 August 1977 at Saint James Church in Vernon, attended by his mother, grandparents Dmytro and Maria Marcyniuk of Wynyard, Saskatchewan, his siblings, family, and friends. 

For graduate studies, he attended the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, specializing in Eastern Christian Liturgical studies. After obtaining a licentiate degree in 1980, he continued with doctoral studies at the same institution. During this time, he served as Basilian student prefect and directed the Basilian choir, which frequently performed on Vatican Radio. He was also responsible for the publication in 1982 of a revised Basilian prayerbook and oversaw the first Ukrainian language texts for Lenten-Easter Divine Praises, translated by Father Porfirio Pidruchny.

On 18 November 1985, Father Lawrence defended his doctoral dissertation on “The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in the Kievan Metropolitan Province During the Period of Union With Rome 1596-1839,” under the direction of Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ. In 1990, it was published as a book by Analecta OSBM.

After returning to Canada in the autumn of 1986, he was stationed at the Basilian Monastery in Mundare, Alberta, where he was named Parish Priest of Saints Peter and Paul Parish on 6 October 1986. He also served as Assistant Master of Novices from 1986 to 1991. On 12 September 1988, he was also given the additional charge of Assistant Superior of the Monastery. On 30 August 1990, he became the Director of the new Basilian Fathers Museum. From 1992, he lectured in Byzantine Liturgy at the Newman Theological College in Edmonton.

Father Lawrence was elected to the Provincial Council of the Basilian Order in Canada in July 1996 and was appointed Master of Novices and Superior of Saints Peter and Paul Monastery in September 1996.

On 16 December 1996 Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton. At the time, the Eparchy numbered 30,000 faithful, 89 parishes and churches, 32 eparchial priests and 14 Basilians, with seven retired clergy, eight deacons, and 38 Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. His episcopal consecration took place on 3 April 1997 at Saint Basil the Great Parish in Edmonton. Metropolitan Michael Bzdel was the principal consecrator with Bishop Severian Yakymyshyn and Bishop Cornelius Pasichny as co-consecrators. Concelebrants included 32 Roman and Ukrainian Catholic bishops and 60 priests. Protoarchimandrite Dionisiy Lachovicz, General Superior of the Basilian Order, served as Archdeacon. His mother and siblings were in attendance, as well as many religious brothers and sisters, and over 1,500 faithful. Bishop Lawrence was installed as Edmonton Eparch Saint at Josaphat’s Cathedral on 6 April 1997.

With episcopal ordination Bishop Lawrence became a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). Here he has served on the Canon Law Commission, the Doctrine Commission, and the Commission for Christian Unity, where he was elected chairperson from 2017-2020. He also represented the CCCB on the Catholic/Anglican Bishops Dialogue, and the Catholic/Orthodox Bishops Dialogue.

As Edmonton Eparch, he was active in ecumenical engagement, hosting the first Ukrainian Catholic-Orthodox dialogue at St. George’s Parish, Edmonton, in December 1999. Bishop Lawrence participated in the Pastoral Visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine in June 2001. On 19 November 2002, he performed the solemn consecration of the altar of Saint Josaphat’s Cathedral in Edmonton.

On 9 January 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Huculak Archbishop of the Winnipeg Archeparchy and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada, succeeding Archbishop Michael Bzdel. His installation took place at Saints Volodymyr and Olha Cathedral on 11 February 2006, presided over by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar and concelebrated by eight archbishops, ten bishops, and many priests. His mother and siblings were also present.

As Metropolitan Archbishop of Winnipeg he served ex officio on the Permanent Council of the CCCB. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). And he is a member of the Governing Board of the Canadian Council of Churches. He is an ex officio member of Holy Family Home’s Board of Directors and an honorary member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. In 2018, the same Congress recognized his community leadership with the Bulava Award.

In September 2012, he welcomed Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk and the Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from around the world to Winnipeg where they held their annual synod meeting. In July 2020, Huculak was appointed as a Member of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and Inter-religious Dialogue. He also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Saskatoon Eparchy from 28 April 2022 to 21 January 2024. On 10 November 2022 he was given an Auxiliary Bishop in the person of Bishop Andriy Rabiy.

A testimonial banquet celebrating Metropolitan Lawrence’s 75th birthday and 20th anniversary as Metropolitan was held at the Victoria Inn on 14 April 2026. For the occasion, the Ukrainian Catholic hierarchy of Canada and USA gathered in Winnipeg to felicitate His Grace.

source:  Lawrence Huculak on Memorable Manitobans

Christmas in Liberated Rome: Ukrainian Allied Soldiers Celebrate in 1945

            Until the twentieth century, the Ukrainian population of Rome consisted in a handful of seminarians and priests who studied at the Greek College. A separate Ruthenian College (as Ukrainians were then known) was founded in 1897. In 1904, its direction was entrusted to Ukrainian priests of the Basilian Order. The College was re-christened Saint Josaphat's in 1932, upon moving to a new building on the Janiculum Hill. At that time, the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate took charge of its kitchen. The Basilians transferred their international headquarters from Galicia to Rome and moved into the former college building next to the Church of Saints Sergius and Bachus. 

The few Ukrainian lay people in Rome were mostly political refugees from the failed struggle for independence, or dissidents from the Soviet Union. During the Second World War, the most prominent were: Yevhen and Nina Onatsky and their daughter Nastya, Olha Konovalets (the widow of OUN leader Evhen) and their son Yurko, the mezzo soprano Evheniya Zarytska (Zareska), Professor I. Hrynenko and family, Messers Federonchuk, Kozlovsky, Chernytsya, a student named Shevchenko, the painter Faliev and his wife, Nestor and Ida Small-Stotsky, former UNR diplomat Jan Tokarzewski-Karasziewicz and his wife Oksana, daughter of Oleksander Lototsky.

Bishop Ivan Buchko had studied in Rome before and after the First World War (the seminary had to leave from 1915 to 1920). In 1929, he was named Auxiliary Bishop to Metropolitan Sheptytsky. A decade later, in the summer of 1939, he was dispatched to Brazil and Argentina on an apostolic visitation (fact finding mission). Due to the outbreak of war and ensuing occupations, he was prevented from returning to Lviv. At first, he was assigned to assist the Ukrainian Bishop in USA and serve as parish priest of the floundering Saint George's Parish in Manhattan. There was some discussion of him transferring to Canada to assist an ailing Bishop Ladyka. None of these projects came to fruition as, on denunciations by the Soviet Embassy, US officials deported him. On the morning of 29 November 1941, he arrived in Rome and was given lodgings at Saint Josaphat’s Pontifical College. A bishop in residence made the College a focal point for the Ukrainian colony in Rome. 

The College's Basilian superiors invited the bishop to celebrate a pontifical Divine Liturgy in the College chapel each Christmas Day (25 December according to the Gregorian Calendar). In his journal, Bishop Buchko recorded that in 1941 and 1942 the entire Ukrainian colony of Rome attended this service, despite the fact that most of them were Orthodox Christians. During the dark period of German occupation in 1943, a ray of light shone through. On Christmas Eve the Pope received greetings from the Roman Curia. On that occasion, he conveyed to Buchko a general blessing on all Ukrainians and in particular upon Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky in occupied Lviv. The following day, however, only nine members of the Ukrainian colony attended Buchko’s Christmas Liturgy. Some were in hiding, some had left Rome, and Evhen Onatsky had been arrested and was languishing in a German prison.

Most Romans were awaiting the arrival of the Anglo-American forces to liberate the city from the Nazis. Some, however, were a little apprehensive due the Allies war record, and among these was the Spiritual Director of the College, Father Teodoziy Halushchysnsky. Britain and America were known as Protestant countries and were allied with the Catholic Church’s sworn enemy, the Soviet Union. The Allies that destroyed the Basilica of San Lorenzo in 1943 and bombs continued to fall on some civilian areas. In February 1944, the Americans damaged the Papal Palace at Castelgandolfo and destroyed Propaganda Fide’s villa (where many Jews and dissidents had taken refuge). A few days later, they also destroyed the ancient Monastery of Monte Cassino. Some worried that the Allied armies might wreak havoc upon the seat of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, these apprehensions proved to be unfounded.

The first American battalions entered Rome on the evening of 4 June 1944. Only six days later, the first Ukrainian solider made his way to Saint Josaphat’s College. This was Stefan Fyk of Hamtramck, Michigan, who, before the war, had worked for the American-Ukrainian newspaper Narodna Volya, published in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The following day, 11 June, Sergeant Kulyk from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, paid a visit. His family were Orthodox Christians from Bukovyna. On 18 June, Yaroslav Kolosivsky arrived, and American soldier born in the Ternopil region. He had told stories of Ukrainian bravery and sacrifice in the Allied Forces. He himself had been awarded 3 medals and boasted of how he had painted “The Spirit of Ukrainian Americans” on fighter planes. Only a few years before, Bishop Buchko had blessed his marriage at Saint George’s in Manhattan. Before parting for the Perugia Front, he brought a gift of real coffee for the bishop, who shared it with the College superiors.

More Canadians visited the following month. The first was 47-year-old Flight Lieutenant Andriy Nykoliuk (Anrdew Nikoluk) of Toronto, who came on Sunday, 2 July. Born in the Dolyna district of Western Ukraine, he had served in the Austrian Forces and the Ukrainian Galician Army during the First World War. While stationed in England in 1943, he had been one of the founders of the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen's Association (UCSA), headed by Flight Lieutenant Bohdan Panchuk. Nykoliuk revealed that 50,000 Ukrainian ethnics had joined the Canadian Forces and 70 had already died in battle to spread freedom throughout the world. Nykoliuk promised to bring the 20 Ukrainians from his own unit to visit Saint Josaphat’s College.

Ten days later, on 12 July, another initiator of the UCSA, Vasyl Kyryliuk (William Kereluk), came to call. Although a Saskatchewan native, his family originated Kitsmanya near Chernivtsi. Bishop Buchko described him as an excellent man, a deeply religious Orthodox Christian interested in church affairs. Kyryliuk was very convivial and remained throughout the afternoon and for supper. The following day, he attended the Wednesday General Papal Audience and then returned to the College. Bishop Buchko was surprised and edified by these young men whom, unlike many other Anglo-American combatants, did not appear to be pleasure-seeking. Instead of frivolities, they sought out the company and conversation of their fellow Ukrainians. Kyryliuk left a monetary gift for Mrs. Onatsky, whose husband was still in German captivity, and for Yurko Konovalets hiding in the French Seminary, whose mother had been arrested by the Americans at the request of the Soviets.

In the following months, Canadian soldiers named Onyschuk, Bendziak (brothers), and Nahirnyi visited Saint Josaphat’s, and Kolosivsky and Kyryliuk made repeat visits. The latter was appointed Liaison Officer with the Soviet Army. On 2 September, he recounted to Buchko of meeting 15 Ukrainian Soviet officers who were, at first, reluctant to speak with him. He gave them copies of the Canadian newspaper Novyi shlyax and encouraged them and others in the Soviet Army to visit the College. Other Ukrainians came to Saint Peter’s but were prevented from attending the Papal Audience by their Russian superior officers.

In September 1944, there were 13,000 Ukrainians in the Polish Corps serving in Italy. Mykola Kulishko from Volhynia called at Saint Josaphat’s College on 10 September. He told of the discrimination against Ukrainians in the Polish Army and confessed that many wanted to transfer to the other Allied divisions. Hryhoriy Sydor, from Vaneva in the Sokal Region, had been deported to Siberia by the Soviets. He visited on 12 September and also spoke of poor treatment in the Polish Corps. Ivan-Isydor Senyshyn had been a Basilan lay brother in Zhovkva and joined the Polish corps when it was reconstituted in the USSR. He stopped into the College on 17 September. The names of Yaroslav Zhaba, N. Sperkach, Mykola Kornuta are also recorded in the college journals. With an influx of Ukrainian soldiers in Rome, two of the College’s doctoral students, Rev. Romuald Rudnytsky and Ivan Bilanych, offered their services as guides.

Complaints from Ukrainian soldiers reached the ears of General Anders and the Polish Military Ordinary, Bishop Gawlina. On 23 October, two officers from the propaganda section of Anders Second Corps, Zielicki and Jerzy Giedroyc, came to discuss the situation with Bishop Buchko, and Bishop Gawlina came himself to call, two days later. Buchko was invited to visit the Polish Army propaganda unit on 26 October. The Poles were courting him as part of a desperate campaign to retain Eastern Galicia and Volhynia in postwar Poland. During these meetings and with Vatican authorities, Buchko lobbied for Ukrainian soldiers to have access to liturgical and spiritual care in their own rite, which was not being provided even by the appointed chaplain.

On 15 November 1944, Andriy Nykoliuk wrote to Bishop Buchko to ask the College superiors to allow the UCSA to hold a Julian-Calendar Christmas celebration (on 7 January 1945) for the Canadian soldiers in Italy. The USCA would provide all victuals and beverages if the Sisters Servants would agree to prepare the meal. A Winnipeg Ukrainian Women’s association had also donated 300 cigarettes. Visiing soldiers began to deliver packages on 28 December. Bishop Buchko also wrote to London to invite UCSA head, Bohdan Panchuk.

On the evening of New Year’s Day 1945, Kyryliuk arrived from Bari. He informed the bishop that not all the Ukrainian Canadians would be able to attend the celebration because many were at the front fighting the Germans. Nonetheless, the Canadian High Command had promised that each attendee would receive a package of food from which the Sisters could prepare the festive meal. 

Despite treacherous snowed-in roads and non-stop rain, on 4 January the invitees began to arrive in Rome. Most took lodgings at pensions and hotels, but seven were put up in spare rooms at the College. The next day, a transport of 5 soldiers arrived, led by Sargeant Tykholis from Welland, Ontario. In the afternoon, a second convoy arrived led by a Sarchuk, a church cantor in Tvey, Saskatchewan, with a lively sense of humour. The last to arrive was Nykoliuk’s transport. The College clergy observed that some of the soldiers spoke Ukrainian “like natives” while others had lost the ability to converse in their ridna mova (mother tongue). 

On Saturday afternoon, 6 January, the UCSA held the inaugural meeting of its Central Mediterranean Branch in the College Recreation Room, adorned for this puroose with a cross, the UCSA symbol, and with Ukrainian and British flags. Nykoliuk was elected President, Mr. Kryschyna of Holden, Alberta, Secretary, and Kyryliuk head of Supervisory Board. Ivan Bilyak and Vasyl Tkachuk of the Polish Corps also took part.

The original plan foresaw a single celebration on 7 January, Christmas according to the Julian Calendar. But as the guests were in attendance for the Gregorian celebration of the Feast of the Theophany on 6 January, the College Superiors and the Sisters decided to prepare them the traditional svyat vechir (Christmas Eve Supper). 

The following day, Sunday, 7 January 1945, the whole Ukrainian colony, 39 Canadian soldiers and several other guests, where invited to the extraordinary Christmas feast, about 90 altogether. The celebration began with a Pontifical Divine Liturgy celebrated by Bishop Buchko and the College superiors, followed by Panakhyda for the fallen Canadian servicemen and women. Rev. Ivan Radio of Northampton, Pennsylvania, heard Confessions throughout and helped distribute Holy Communion, while the service was photographed by Captain Williams. 

Carols were sung during the luncheon of traditional Ukrainian dishes, including pyrohy (varenyky) and holubsti, prepared by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. At the head table, to the right of the bishop sat Captain Davidson from Pennsylvania, Captain Williams, Vasyl Kyryliuk, and to his left British Major Edward Sedgwick, Andriy Nykoliuk, Father Dionisiy Holovetsky (the interim Basilian Superior), and the College Spiritual Father, Teodoziy Halushchynsky. At the second table were the College Rector, Father Josaphat Labai, and other clerics. Members of the Ukrainian colony sat with the Canadian soldiers which included a Kovalsky from Winnipeg, Tykholis, Sarchuk. Petro Bohun from Habsburg, Alberta, Mykhaylo Nepypilo from Edmonton. Two Scotsmen, their transport drivers, were also included. 

Bishop Buchko welcomed the soldiers in broken English and speeches were given by Fathers Holovetsky, Father Labai and Yuriy Mylanyk. Of the soldiers, Kyryliuk, Nykoliuk, Davidson, Williams, and Sedgwick spoke. Olha Konovalets, Professor Hrynenko, and Nestor Smal Stocky brought good wishes from the Ukrainian colony. The luncheon lasted from noon until 4:00 P.M. In his journal, Buchko recorded that he had contributed financially toward food and drink because nothing was too good for the Canadians “who were to have been be my flock.” For in 1928, he had turned down the appointment as Bishop for the Ukrainian Catholics of Canada.

Kyryliuk was given a festive send-off from the College on 10 January 1945. He and Nykoliuk were so moved by the welcome and hospitality that they wrote to thank the Eastern Congregation which was responsible for the College. Subsequently, Nykoliuk sent cigarettes and conserves which the Bishop distributed among the Ukrainian laity and clergy.

Those soldiers that had not been able to participate in the Christmas festivities visted the college in the days and months following. Among these were Flight Lieutenant Sushko (son of Professor Oleksander), Dmytro Kostiv from Brooklyn, Petro Zatsny and Petro Restefaniv from Manitoba, Ivan Bayrak, Antin Senyk of Edmonton. Polish soldiers also visited including Ivan Danyliv, Yustyn Basiuk, Bohdan Sperkach, Mykola Kulishko, Lev Terletsky, Mykola Malytsky, Mykhaylo Koza, Teodor Burnyak, Yaroslav Shpikula, Oleksa Storozhynsky, and Oleksa Mostovy, Buchko’s minor seminarian future and the choir director in London, England, and Calgary, Alberta. Some made their Confession and asked for the Bishop’s blessing before returning to the frontlines.

After this brief period of celebration, a terrible crisis manifested itself as Ukrainian displaced persons began to arrive in Italy without lodgings or means of support. On 31 May 1945, Bishop Buchko established the Relief Committee for Ukrainian Refugees assisted by the staff of Saint Josaphat’s College, other Basilian and secular priests, and prominent members of the Ukrainian colony.