During July 5-8, 2023, a pilgrimage for peace and reconciliation was conducted on foot from Lviv to the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Reconciliation in Bilshivtsi.
The pilgrimage was led by Friar Paweł ODÓJ, a friar from the St. Anthony Shrine in Lviv. Several priests and nuns joined him for the four-day procession along with more than one hundred and twenty faithful from various parishes in the Archdiocese of Lviv and the Diocese of Kamianets-Podilskyi.
The pilgrimage began on Wednesday July 5, with Mass at the abbey church of the Benedictine nuns in Sołonka, near Lviv. Friar Stanisław KAWA, the Provincial Custos of the Custody of the Holy Cross in Ukraine, presided. Along the way, the pilgrims were welcomed by the pastor and parishioners at the Greek-Catholic church in Zhyrivka. Later, the Most Reverend Mieczysław MOKRZYCKI, Archbishop of Lviv, joined the pilgrims, and walked with them for several kilometres, from Olchowiec to Voloshchyna. The day ended at the Salesian church and residence in Bobryk.
On the second day, the local Pastor, Father Józef NUCKOWSKI, SDB, presided over Mass. It was a day of reflection and mourning, as the pilgrims learned of the tragedy that occurred in Lviv. There had been a bombing in the middle of the night that destroyed an apartment building and killed ten people (including friends of the participants in the pilgrimage). Dozens more were injured. The pilgrims prayed in particular for the victims, for peace in Ukraine, and for the conversion of the enemy. In the evening, an hour of Eucharistic Adoration was held at the church in Peremyshliany.
On the third day, after spending the night at the Salesian residence, the pilgrims left for Rohatyn. Noon Mass was celebrated at the church in Lypivka. Father Nazar BIŁYK, Administrator of the parish in Rohatyn, presided.
On the last day, the pilgrims walked from Rohatyn to Bilshivtsi, the longest stretch of the pilgrimage. Once again they were joined by the Archbishop of Lviv. The archbishop daily joined various groups of pilgrims, who walked to the shrine in Bilshivtsi from seven different directions. The Archbishop of Lviv presided over evening Mass for pilgrimage groups traveling on foot from Lviv, Ternopil, Kamianka-Buzka, Sniatyn, Stryi, Mostyska (a pilgrimage on bicycle) and Ivano-Frankivsk. In total, around seven hundred people attended. In his homily, Archbishop MOKRZYCKI underlined the great role that Mary plays in the struggle for peace and the victory of good over evil: “Today we want to embrace the heart of Our Lady of Peace and Reconciliation. Let us cling to Mary, because the victory of good over evil will come through Mary.”
Custody of the Holy Cross in Ukraine
