Last weekend, I had the privilege to meet with Archbishop Borys Gudziak, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and a longtime friend of the Napa Institute.
He implored the Napa Institute to do everything we could to support his fellow Ukrainians – many of whom are our fellow Catholics – in their struggle for freedom.
I promised him we would. And I hope you will support us in this noble, necessary effort.
Archbishop Borys and Tim Busch pictured with the Ukrainian Cross of Gratitude at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC
We have already taken major steps to help Ukraine. We recently held a call with the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University – the only Catholic University in the former Soviet Union. The rector interrupted the call several times to take cover from Russian bombs. After the call, the friends of the Napa Institute sent 4 truckloads of life-saving supplies to the Ukrainian border.
We could not have done this without your support. Yet the need is still great, and growing greater by the day. If you would like to support the Ukrainian Catholic University, you may do so here.
We are also collaborating with the Knights of Columbus with their efforts and are so grateful for their support. You can support the Knights’ efforts in Ukraine here.
Why are we doing so much? And why are we committed to do so much more? Because the country of Ukraine is special to the Napa Institute.
There are many stories that prove it, but one sticks out in my mind. It was in 2018, when a group of Napa Institute pilgrims – including my daughter Kenzie, my sister Karen, my late Mother Marcheta, and my wife Steph and I – visited Ukraine. We visited Lviv and the Ukrainian Catholic University, where I fell in love with that country and its people. They are a people of faith, and it gives them true strength.
I saw that truth again last weekend, after visiting Archbishop Borys. I attended a memorial Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, which had hosted the Ukrainian Cross of Gratitude several days earlier. The cross was constructed in Ukraine in 2003 I,n anticipation of the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It has traveled to 46 countries during its pilgrimage around the world. Archbishop Borys hopes it will arrive next in the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, when Pope Francis leads the stations.
The friends of the Napa Institute join him in that hope. And we put our hope in the Lord and Our Lady, to whom the Holy Father has consecrated both Russia and Ukraine. May peace return – and until that day, and beyond, may the Napa Institute do everything we can support the people of Ukraine.
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