“I encourage You to Find the Freshness and Beauty of Your Vocation by Constantly Contemplating Christ” — His Beatitude Sviatoslav Addresses the Sisters Servants
Today, November 28, the Ukrainian Catholic University is hosting the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Charism in Action: Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate”. On this occasion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, addressed the speakers and participants of the conference, including Superior General Sister Sofia Lebedovych, the Sisters Servants of the Ukrainian Province, representatives from other European provinces, and those joining online from Canada, the USA, and Brazil.
The Head of the UGCC with Sister Sofia Lebedovych during the Liturgy marking the opening of the Jubilee Year of the Sisters Servants, July 1, 2024. Photo: Information Department of the Ivano-Frankivsk Archeparchy of the UGCC
In his greeting letter, the Primate noted that the conference coincides with the 90th anniversary of the canonical unification of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. “This anniversary reveals to our Church that unity does not come from a human being but is the fruit of the Holy Spirit,” he emphasized.
“The Congregation of the SSMI, founded in the late nineteenth century to conduct active spiritual and educational work among the Ukrainian people, responding to the needs of the time by sending sisters on various missions. At the request of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, sisters were sent to work with Ukrainian emigrants in Canada in 1902, the Diocese of Kryzevets in 1906, and distant Brazil in 1911. Despite the vast distance, which thwarted physical contact, the sisters sought to pursue the things that unite them as a Congregation: common history, statutes and charism, namely, their work to serve their people and their Church,” said the Head of the UGCC.
Referring to the Congregation in the postwar period after the First World War, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that, “The sisters overseas were often advised to adapt to the new circumstances, which complicated efforts to establish a single Congregation with the sisters in Galicia. The issue of the canonical unity of the Congregation between Galicia, Canada, and Brazil gained more momentum in the late 20s of the twentieth century in the context of the drafting and approval of new statutes by the Apostolic See.”
“The foreign sisters overcame the challenge of alienation from the Galician sisters, reaching a pinnacle in convening of the Chapter in Lviv on July 4–6, 1934, bringing thus together sisters from Galicia, Canada, and Brazil. It was decided to create a global, clearly centralized Congregation. The Chapter elected a Superior General, Sr. Veronica Gargil, and provincial superiors to address local needs,” the letter explained.
“Thus, 1934 was the year of the canonical and spiritual unification of the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, which operated on three different continents. The first General Chapter was the impetus not only for the unification and centralization of the Congregation but also for its significant growth in membership. The decade after this chapter went down in history as the Golden Decade,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav continued.
He explained that, “This scholarly event aims not only to revisit the Congregation’s history but also to analyze historical events to rethink the present and respond more effectively to the challenges of our globalized world and the ongoing war in Ukraine.”
“Given the rich heritage of your Congregation, I encourage you, sisters, to find the freshness and beauty of your vocation, by constantly contemplating Christ and seeking Him amid the challenges of today, such as the war in Ukraine and its wounded people who are in need of healing,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the UGCC, concluded.
The UGCC Department for Information
