Kiev – Temperatures ranging from -10 to -20 degrees, lack of electricity, heating and, in some cases, running water. From Borodjanka, near Kiev, Father Luca Bovio, Consolata missionary and director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Ukraine, shows in a video one of the many refreshment points where people can find ‘respite’ from the cold, hot meals are distributed and play areas have been set up for children.
The massive attacks on the energy infrastructure across the country are putting a strain on a population exhausted by almost four years of war.
Father Bovio tells Fides about the first months of the National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which is gradually taking shape.
The new National Direction was established in March 2025 and is currently based at the Apostolic Nunciature in Kiev, where Father Luca Bovio has been working since last summer.
“Despite the bureaucratic processes for the legal recognition of our Direction by the State, which are normally lengthy and made even more complex by the ongoing conflict,” reports the missionary priest, “our work is developing: on our proposal, people are being identified who can be appointed as diocesan directors by their respective bishops: these are collaborators who, once trained, carry out valuable and widespread work in the individual dioceses. At the moment, three have already been appointed.”
The current ecclesial reality in Ukraine has been shaped by a rich and complex history linked to the events of Orthodox Christianity in those lands. “As Pontifical Mission Societies,” explains Father Bovio, “we work mainly within the Latin Rite Catholic Church, which accounts for about 1% of Christianity in Ukraine. But even at this early stage, our Direction is expanding its field of work with Catholics of both the Latin and Greek Byzantine rites. In the near future, we would also like to collaborate with a small community of Armenian Catholics.”
An important sign of this collaboration with the local Church was the official invitation extended to Father Bovio last October to participate in the Synod of the Greek Catholic Church, to which 12-13% of the population belongs. On that occasion, Father Bovio illustrated the mission and work of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
“With surprise and amazement,” adds the missionary, “I have also witnessed the formation of missionary children’s groups in recent months. Especially during Christmas, there were many moments of missionary animation by these children and adolescents, who showed the joy and generosity typical of children and cultivated by the PMS for the benefit of the most distant children.” “I think it is a sign of great hope,” he adds, “to find children who, despite living in situations of constant precariousness, bring the Gospel with their hearts turned to their peers who are most in need.”
Looking to the future, Father Luca Bovio states: “I believe that the PMS in Ukraine are called to an important commitment in missionary and vocational animation. In this initial phase, I believe that the urgency of proclaiming Christ beyond one’s own borders, to the whole world, is not yet widely perceived; here, Christianity is lived with an emphasis on other aspects that are undoubtedly important—there is, for example, great attention to the liturgy. “In this land blessed by God, rich in so many stories of saints and so many beautiful examples of Christian life, we will also seek to work so that vocations may arise which embrace the beauty of proclaiming Christ to the ends of the world.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.