A Pilgrimage to the Miraculous Icon “Gates of Mercy” Took Place in Jarosław
On May 17, Greek Catholics of the Peremyshl-Warsaw Metropolia of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church honored the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “Gates of Mercy” in Jarosław.
This was reported by the press service of the Przemyśl-Warsaw Archeparchy.
To mark the event, a pilgrimage for peace in Ukraine took place on May 16–17, bringing together four bishops, fifty priests, monks, and about 1,200 faithful.
The youth pilgrimage began on May 16, with around 80 participants walking from the Archcathedral in Przemyśl to the Co-Cathedral in Jarosław—a 40-kilometer journey. The prayer program opened with Great Vespers and a Litany, presided over by Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowicz of Przemyśl and Warsaw.
Following Vespers, Fr. Ihor Hubach from Pasłęk led a Moleben to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Divine Liturgy was concelebrated by more than a dozen priests, with Fr. Nazariy Yaremchuk, OSBM, from Warsaw presiding. After the Liturgy, a night procession took place around the sanctuary, which, in this jubilee year, has been granted a special papal privilege of plenary indulgence. The Friday program concluded with a night vigil led by young people and members of the Vox Dei group. Participants reflected on the Gospel passage about the “Road to Emmaus” and praised God and His Mother in song.
The Sunday program began with Matins, led by Fr. Pavlo Potochny from Tsyhanka, accompanied by a choir from Lviv under the direction of Andriy Shrkabyuk. Prayers before the miraculous icon were then led by sisters from the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Afterwards, Fr. Dmytro Fedliuk from Bielsko-Biała, together with deacons from Przemyśl, led a supplicatory Paraklesis to the Mother of God.
Before the Divine Liturgy, bishops and clergy processed from the town square, carrying a copy of the icon that had just returned from a year-long pilgrimage to parishes of the Przemyśl-Warsaw Archeparchy.
The Liturgy was presided over by Bishop Teodor Martynyuk and concelebrated by Bishops Eugeniusz Popowicz and Arkadiusz Trochanowski, Bishop Emeritus Piotr Kryk, and many other clergy.
At the conclusion, a procession with the copy of the miraculous icon took place around the church, followed by the blessing of water and the sending forth of the icon on its second pilgrimage—this time to the parishes of the Wrocław-Koszalin Eparchy.
After the Liturgy, a documentary film entitled Gates of Mercy was screened in the parish hall, offering deeper insight into the spiritual significance of the icon and its veneration in Jarosław.
This feast was established in connection with the traditional metropolitan pilgrimage to the Jarosław Cathedral, where the original icon is kept, held each year in the third week of May.
The UGCC Department for Information
