Please consider making a donation today to help the Spiritans in Poland, who are hosting Ukrainian refugees. The first $10,000 received in donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the U.S. Province!

The Polish Province has shared with us their situation:

We have all been touched by the enormity of the human tragedy that has befallen the Ukrainian people. A multitude of refugees, now numbering close to two million, have crossed our borders and we, as a nation, are mobilizing to help them. This is a wonderful testimony of solidarity, openness of heart and Christian love for our neighbor. Everyone, individuals, institutions, businesses, the Church, are mobilizing to help refugees today. And their needs are unlimited, requiring action here and now, but also planning for the weeks and months to come.

The Congregation of the Holy Spirit is actively involved in this relief effort. All of our communities have joined in the collections that are being redistributed to refugees by the Church's Caritas agencies.

Several communities have volunteered for the regional crisis committees and have prepared rooms for the refugees. The community of Glinki in Bydgoszcz has prepared a place for two families who are to arrive in the next few days. The former novitiate house in Chełmszczonka has been hosting three mothers and their four children for a week. In the provincial house in Bydgoszcz, in collaboration with the Polish Foundation, we have been hosting mothers with children who all come from war zones since March 1. Their husbands and fathers are fighting for the freedom of Ukraine, and they, fleeing the horrors of war, find refuge within the walls of our seminary. 

Their stories are often terrifying and at the same time show the true picture of the cruelty of war. "When a bomb fell on a neighboring house, killing its inhabitants, I didn't hesitate a second longer, I took my mother and daughter, a few essential objects and ran away," says Marija, one of the women staying with us. Each of them brings with her a baggage of experiences that she is reluctant to talk about. They worry about the husbands and fathers they have left behind, but they always emphasize that they are fighting for the freedom of their country - Ukraine.

Often with only one bag, one jacket on their backs, they came to us; here they try to prepare for the worst and at the same time to find their husbands and fathers back home as soon as possible. 

Our community has set up a wing of the building that used to house our seminary to accommodate the refugees. Eight rooms currently house 12 mothers and 13 children. They also have a large living room, a kitchen, a sanitary block with showers, a playroom for the children and a large garden where they often go for walks. 

In cooperation with the Polish Foundation, we provide full board, medical and psychological care. One of our children was hospitalized for a week for an inflammation of the lungs; all the others are fine according to the doctor. We are also trying to find work for our ladies; at the moment it is only voluntary work, but we hope that they will soon be able to find a stable job. At the moment, four women are working every day at the regional aid center, sorting donations for the refugees. In this way, they help other refugees, especially those housed in municipal facilities in Bydgoszcz. 

Each refugee in Poland will receive a PESEL number that will allow him/her to receive social benefits, health care and work, and for children to receive education. We have also applied for such documents for our ladies, but due to the number of refugees, the procedures will probably take many weeks, even months. Thanks to our efforts, the nearby elementary school is educating four of our children, all of school age, and by April 1, the 3 to 5 year olds will be in kindergarten. 

We encourage everyone to pray for peace in Ukraine and for all the help we can give to those who have experienced the horror of war and death. 

May this Lenten season be for us a true opportunity to live and practice daily prayer, fasting and almsgiving. May this deeply Christian practice continue in our daily lives.

You can help by donating today, and the U.S. Province will match the first $10,000 in donations to send to the Polish Province to aid their efforts.