Local Ukrainian Church celebrates 100 years
A church founded by Ukrainian immigrants celebrated 100 years Saturday.
St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church, located in the southend, held a divine liturgy with Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago. In contrast to Roman Catholic Diocese, Eparchy’s often cover a larger area.
The first baptism at the church took place on march 10, 1917. While the church's home base is small, event organizers said they have congregation members from far and wide. The church is autonomous from the Roman Catholic Church, but numerous traditions overlap. Church goers and even take their confession at Roman or Greek Orthodox Churches.
One family travelled from Overland Park to celebrate the church’s 100 year event. Lesya Bondar and her two sons are long-time churchgoers.
“I’m very glad that 100 years, these people keep this church to show next generation our language, our tradition, our culture,” she said.
When Bondar’s husband died, her sons said the church played an important role in their lives. They came with offerings for Aleksiychuk, including Korovai bread which is only made for special occasions. After the ceremony, a dinner was held.
Kathy Hasiak, an event organizer, said she’s glad to see a younger generation being active in the church.
“The people just love their church,” Hasiak said. “And we’ve had so many pass through, their parents are visiting from the Ukraine, and they are so surprised that we exist. They’re thrilled.”
Dave Hon
