Mats’kivtsi is a village in the Khmelnytskyi region of Ukraine. In 2010, the Conventual Franciscans built the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary here, along with a friary. The friars have been serving here ever since they founded the church.
In 2021, the Bishop of Kamyanets-Podilskyi proclaimed this small church as: “The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.” Today it is a place of daily prayer for the conversion of Russia, in keeping with the message given by Mary during her apparition at Fatima in 1917.
When full-scale war broke out in Ukraine in February of 2022, many Ukrainians realized the need to fulfill the call of Our Lady of Fatima. Through constant prayer, penance and work, we ask God that a society that grew up without God and without Christian values might finally and forever be cured of the cancer of communism.
Each month from May to October, we walk in procession through the streets of the village and pray for peace and an end to the war. The war has affected each of us in his own way. Many men from our village are serving in the Ukrainian army. Almost every villager has friends or relatives who are fighting at the front. Ukrainian flags are already flying over the graves of our heroes who were killed in action and are buried in our cemeteries. Prayer often becomes the only strength we can draw on during the many air raid alerts, when enemy missiles or deadly drones fly overhead.
Ever since Russia started its full-scale invasion, our parish has been a haven for the many refugees coming here from all over Ukraine. The Conventual Franciscans, with help from nuns and parishioners, welcome dozens of families each day, including elderly and children, who are fleeing from the bombing and the occupation. Some of these refugees have remained and are staying in the homes of our parishioners or in refugee centers located in nearby villages. Thanks to the support of our friars and benefactors from Poland, Romania, Germany and other countries, we have helped, and are continuing to help, people affected by the war by distributing food, hygiene products, clothes, toys and baby food. Often refugees from the nearby city of Khmelnytskyi come to us feeling that they can get some help here. This is because the war has left them abandoned and destitute.
Friar Artur SPODAR organized a course in our church to teach medical and psychological first aid in war-related emergency situations. During the summer camp held in the parish, we taught children how to behave and help others in case of danger and how to give first aid in case of injury.
The bombing during the night of May 12-13, was a tragedy for the surrounding villages and parishes. The explosions were so strong that they could be seen from tens of kilometers away. It is difficult to find a house in the village that hasn’t been damaged. The villages closest to the explosions were the worst affected. All the windows in our shrine were smashed, sturdy doors were ripped out and walls collapsed. That night was a very difficult experience for everyone. The residents were shocked and terrified by the proximity of death. It was a miracle that no one lost his life. In the evening, the parishioners came to the church to continue praying to Our Lady for the end of the war and to give thanks for the lives that had been spared.
The war is ongoing, as is our prayer and our work. We help support refugees who have lost their homes. We help the families of those who are fighting on the front, by delivering medicine, clothes and various necessities to military hospitals in nearby cities.
May the Mother of God intercede for us and beseech God for an end to this war and the peace we long for.
Friar Stanisław PĘKALA
