All-Ukrainian Congress of Families in Vinnytsia becomes a central event of the Year of Holiness of Marriage and Family

The Congress of Families, which lasted September 20 through 22 in Shargorod and Vinnytsia, became the central event of the Year of Holiness of Marriage and Family.

It was attended by Catholics from all over Ukraine. The Congress began with a solemn Eucharistic procession. The faithful from different parts of Ukraine led by their pastors were walking along the main street of Vinnytsia.

According to the Catholic magazine CREDO, the first day, September 20, was a day of prayer and reconciliation. The meeting began in the Sanctuary of the Passions of the Lord in Shargorod. The worship was led by the Chairman of the episcopate of Ukraine Bronyslav Bernatsky. After the Mass, the faithful prayed along the way of the Cross, which is being built on the hills of the city, and gave testimony of their lives in marriage.

The second day of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Families was the day of knowledge and was held in Vinnytsia. The children enjoyed a separate program in the Church of God's Mercy, the youth – in the Church of the Angelic Mother of God, and the spouses in the Church of the Holy Spirit.

On the last day of the Congress, September 22, a procession with the Blessed Sacrament ‘March of the Families’ took place. The meeting culminated in a solemn Mass in the town square presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio.

According to Fr. Yaroslav Honsiorek, coordinator of the Congress of Families, the event was aimed to support families that are in crisis today. In Ukraine, 60 % of families break up and the Catholic Church seeks to support the family, to give it strength, Vinnytsia was chosen as the venue of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Families, because this city is actually in the center of Ukraine.

The procession ended in St. Basil's square with a solemn Liturgy led by the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti. He was concelebrated by the Catholic bishops of Ukraine, together with the Catholics some Orthodox and Protestants prayed.  

Archbishop Gugerotti said: “I have come to thank and convey the grateful embrace of the Pope. The Apostolic blessing that I will convey at the end is a sign of how he feels about you. Family is a testimony of love, open to your children, the elderly and all those who create a family. You are the living carriers of the largest metaphor of love in the Christian and universal dimension. You possess the most precious thing humanity has. When I go to the Pope, I will bring him photos and videos from the Congress and today's celebration, because Pope Francis likes to see real things.”

“All-Ukrainian Congress of Families," noted Lviv Metropolitan of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki in his comments to CREDO,  "is a very important event from the point of view of the situation in the modern world. It will not only strengthen and cement in our Church.”

The Congress ended with a family festival.