Saint Joseph Mission in Vancouver Holds Its First Parish “Praznyk”
The community of St Joseph Mission ‘Parish’ held what was understood to be their first parish praznyk. It took place on the Sunday after Christmas as that is the Sunday that St. Joseph the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary is specially commemorated in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The mission community chose the name “St. Joseph the Spouse”. They said that it reflected their desire that St. Joseph who took care of the Holy Family as they had to travel to faraway lands, would also watch over them and their families who travelled far from Ukraine to be here in Canada.
St. Joseph Mission was offered a space by St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Maple Ridge — the city/suburb of Vancouver. St. Parick’s has a beautiful large Blessed Sacrament adoration Chapel, also named after St. Joseph near their main church. The size of the chapel is now perfect for the community. Parish Priest, Fr. Mykhailo Postolyuk, holds services there at least every Sunday morning for a very appreciative group of faithful.
Most Rev. Michael Kwiatkowski, the Bishop of the Eparchy of New Westminster was invited to the Praznyk and he attended, accompanied by two Sisters of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate — Sr. Angelica Hodowansky and Sr. Janice Soluk — that reside in New Westminster.
The Praznyk began with a beautifully sung bilingual Divine Liturgy. Bishop Michael preached on the person of St. Joseph and his humble, yet all-important role in salvation history. He pointed out that we are all called to have important roles in Christ’s plan of Evangelizing the world and we only need to have St. Joseph’s obedient trust in the Will of God and a dedication to spryly respond to His prompts that the Lord gives is in so many ways.
The day also marked the conclusion of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope for parishes around the world (except St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome). So, Bishop Michael and Fr. Mykhailo led the congregation in some Jubilee Year closing prayers. This was followed by the traditional “Myrovannya” anointing as the people sang joyful carols.
A truly impressive praznyk meal was prepared in the adjacent Parish café “Holy Grounds” with an ample array of fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, meats and a lot of traditional cakes and treats. Being a café, there were a lot of freshly brewed cappuccinos, espressos and teas for everyone. People sang carols. Children recited verses, and even some performed rare carols that you don’t hear everywhere — like the (very long) “The dark night covered the world with darkness, but The Holy Virgin walked through the World”.
May our Lord, Whose nativity we celebrate in these days, richly bless the St. Joseph Mission and may it blossom and flourish as a community of worship and mutual support and Christian living!
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