Help for the Training of 182 Seminarians in Ukraine

No fewer than 182 young men from different parts of Ukraine are currently training for the priesthood at the Greek Catholic seminary in Ivano-Frankivsk. For the first six months of the war, the seminary was used as emergency accommodation for 200 women refugees and their children, while the seminarians studied online instead. But in September 2022, the seminarians returned to the seminary and resumed their face-to-face studies. 

The continuing war and the related economic crisis are a major headache for the seminary administration. The prices of food and energy have tripled during this time, while the ordinary Catholic faithful in the parishes have become too poor to give more than a little, and the seminarians’ own families are likewise unable to contribute anything to their sons‘ spiritual formation. “The situation is particularly difficult for those seminarians whose fathers have been called up to fight. Many of these fathers will not return again,” says the rector, Father Taras Putko.  

And so, once again, the rector is asking for our help in order to continue the formation of these young men, even in difficult times. He writes, “It is only thanks to the help of our benefactors that we can continue to keep our seminary running. Without your help it would be impossible!” It is hard enough already for the Archbishop of Ivano-Frankivsk to support the 525 priests of his eparchy.   

We are planning to support the training of these future priests for another year, with a total of $158,483, or just about $870 per seminarian.  

Will you join us in helping them?  

Code: 438-02-79