Lviv parish prepares to welcome pontiff (06/24/01)

Lviv parish prepares to welcome pontiff

by Zenon Zawada
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

LVIV - Its brick-red walls are unfinished, and the edges are rough. Much of the church's surrounding field hasn't yet been sown with seedlings. Inside, parishioners mustered a makeshift altar for the pope's upcoming historic visit.

Despite the lack of grandeur, the Vatican selected the Nativity of the Theotokos (Mother of God) Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Lviv's Sykhiv as one of only two sites where pope John Paul II will address the public in Lviv, the center of Ukrainian Catholicism.

"I think that for the holy father, it wasn't about the best site or the nicest stone walls, but (historically) significant and vibrant people," said the Rev. Orest Fredyna, 38, the pastor at the church.

The Nativity Parish was formed 10 years ago, and construction of the church began six years ago. The church relies entirely on its 4,000-member parish for funding, the reason for the slow progress.

The average wage of a parishioner is about $30 a month.

"It's not wealthy people or foundations who built this," the Rev. Fredyna said. "The parish members built all this together. To me, it's another example that Ukrainians have an innate spirit of God," he added.

The Nativity Parish is in many ways symbolic of Catholicism in Ukraine, the Rev. Fredyna said. After more than a half-century of persecution under the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian Catholic Church is enjoying a rebirth and growth in western Ukraine, largely led by young priests, nuns and parishioners.

But like the Nativity Church's construction, progress has been slow because of the country's economic woes. Ukrainian Catholics view the pope's visit as a valuable spiritual boost.

"Without a doubt, this is a good opportunity for every person to think about who is this pope, a man greeted by millions of people," said Vasyl Bilash, president of St. Sophia's Youth Catholic Center in Lviv.

At Nativity of Mary, parishioners have been volunteering any free time they have had in the past several months to prepare their church for the papal visit.

While studying for final exams, students have set aside hours to prepare Christian hymns and even set up a website for their church: www.hBohorodytci.lviv.ua.

In the meantime, women have been weaving wreaths in the cool concrete chambers of the church's basement. The traditional Ukrainian wreaths will decorate the entire scene when the pontiff addresses a youth rally of 250,000 people at the pine altar on June 26. "I'm doing this for the Church and for my soul," said Ira Rozhyk, 60, who spent almost every day weaving wreaths for the past several weeks.

At Nativity Church, the pope will be greeted by children dressed in traditional costumes and will address young members of religious and scouting organizations. To prepare for the rally, about 300 of Lviv's youth gathered at a nearby theater after liturgy and held a "Youth and the Pope" conference.

They learned the pope's biography and accomplishments and sang Christian hymns and songs written in honor of the pope's visit. They also drafted a resolution declaring that Ukraine is in a deep spiritual and moral crisis, and that the pope's visit signals a brighter day full of hope.

"Our goal is to be ready in our spiritual plans and to have a joyful outlook," said Mariana Drushliakivska, 22, a conference organizer. "We also invited our Orthodox brothers because we live in one country, and we want people to positively welcome this."

Just a few kilometers south of the Nativity Church, the HalBud construction company has been building the papal altar at Lviv's Hippodrome, a massive, horse-racing track where Pope John Paul II will officiate at a Latin-rite mass on June 26 and a divine liturgy in the Byzantine rite the next morning.

Construction of the modest, 450-meter altar began only in early May, said HalBud's president, Oleksii Lutsiv. He doesn't know why construction began so late, but noted that his workers have been pulling 15-hour days for six days a week to finish the altar in time.

Such enthusiasm may be needed to accommodate the 2 million to 5 million visitors expected here during the pope's two-day visit, the biggest event in Lviv since Ukraine's independence in 1991. Organizers will have to provide transportation, security and toilets for the huge crowds.

Cars will be forbidden within five kilometers of Nativity Church and the Hippodrome. As a result, the city will shut all trolleybus and tram service because electric circuitry doesn't allow for individual portions of electric networks to shut down. The government will provide mini-buses and trains, said Mykola Fredyna, a member of the coordinating committee for the visit.

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