The Conventual Franciscan Provincial Secretariat for Mission Animation, located in Gdynia, Poland, is supporting and continuing a project to benefit Ukraine which was started by local members of the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.). The Secretariat belongs to the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk).
Four years ago, the M.I. community at the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Gdynia became the first group to start collecting miraculous medals for Ukraine. Then, during Lent of 2021, the Most Reverend Edward KAWA, OFM Conv., Auxiliary Bishop of Lviv, preached a spiritual retreat in Gdynia, during which he appealed to the members of the M.I. in Gdynia to collect rosaries for the faithful in Ukraine. From that came the idea of distributing miraculous medals to the soldiers of Ukraine who have been fighting for peace in their homeland ever since the annexation of Crimea.
Assistance of every kind—military, humanitarian and spiritual—is needed to drive out the enemy and achieve peace. Thus the Provincial Secretariat for Mission Animation is involved in various projects to benefit Ukraine. These projects include collecting and delivering medicine and first aid supplies, transporting refugees, and in particular, prayer. Now the time has come to raise funds for producing and shipping miraculous medals. St. Maximilian called these medals “bullets against the devil.”
So far, members of the M.I. have sent more than 50,000 miraculous medals to Ukraine, together with a holy card featuring an image of Our Lady and the text of the prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin” in the Ukrainian language. These medals are still very much in demand and that is why we invite everyone to support this initiative. It is a beautiful mission!
According to Bishop KAWA and the project volunteers, the soldiers are very happy to receive the medals and accept them willingly, feeling the support of the prayer and the intercession of Mary, thanks to whom they have often escaped death.
Finally, we should mention that the Province of Gdańsk has been using its friaries and retreat centers to house nearly one hundred refugees from Ukraine, mostly women and children.
Friar Robert KOZIELSKI