Sister Daria on Her Ministry in Kharkiv: “Hope in God’s Support Is the Only Thing That Keeps Me From Despair”
Sister Daria Panast from the Congregation of St. Joseph the Betrothed of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been serving in Kharkiv for 4 years, in Caritas of the Kharkiv Exarchate of the UGCC. In January 2023, near the village of Liptsi, Kharkiv region, she and Fr. Vitaliy Zubak were injured as a result of artillery shelling by the Russian military. Almost 2 years have passed since that event, and Sr. Daria continues to minister in Kharkiv. In an interview with Vatican news, she spoke about her ministry during the full-scale war.
When describing the most arduous period of her ministry from a spiritual perspective, she explained that for her, “the most spiritually challenging moments are during shelling.”
“These attacks often occur at night, catching you off guard. It is also difficult when they are very close. In those moments, my prayers turn to the Lord for salvation and protection, but as a human, I fear the next missile may strike our house,” said Sr. Daria.
She added that there are two sisters serving in Kharkiv and “virtually, it is challenging.” The sister also spoke about her injury.
“I also remember when I got injured: it was not easy either. It felt like the end of my life. And to some extent, you feel ambivalent, because, on the one hand, you feel that God does not forsake you, but on the other hand, from a human perspective, there are times when you ask yourself whether you are really ready to fully sacrifice your life this way. And I need to admit that I live from day to day, primarily relying on God’s support, and this is the only thing that sustains me and does not allow me to fall into despair,” the sister emphasized.
Therefore, according to her, after the injury, “the sister superior asked if I wanted to stay there and if I was ready to stay there, and I said that I would continue my ministry there, in Kharkiv.”
“We have a general rule that sisters change their place of service every 5 years. But in some cases, the change can happen earlier, according to the needs of the sisters. When the time is right, I will decide what to do next. For now, I don’t feel that I have to leave urgently. I work there and feel that I have rooted myself there. I have a good time working with those people,” said Sr. Daria.
The UGCC Department for Information
