“The life of Josaphat gives us hope”: the Jubilee Year of St. Josaphat concluded with a solemn Liturgy in the Vatican
On November 12, 2023, the Jubilee Year of the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was completed. On this occasion, the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on the cathedral altar of St. Peter’s Basilica was presided over by the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav. The sermon was delivered by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius. According to the decision of the Lithuanian Parliament, this Jubilee year in Lithuania was held at the state level.
In his sermon, Archbishop Grušas underscored that the life of St. Josaphat was connected with many peoples of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus.
“His life,” the hierarch noted, “touched many peoples and nations because he endeavored to lead everyone to unity in Christ. In the hardships we face today in the world, in Ukraine and other countries, amidst wars, migration, and many other crises, the life of Josaphat gives us hope that the Lord can use each of us as an instrument for establishing his kingdom here on earth, starting with our hearts and acting in the world around us.”
The preacher noted that St. Josaphat was a man who accepted God’s call to seek cooperation in achieving unity and peace and a man of deep prayer. According to him, St. Josaphat also cared about the salvation of souls, using the sacraments primarily to convert people to God and strengthen them on their way to heaven. Josaphat was also a powerful preacher; thanks to his sermons, many repented and entered the Catholic Church’s bosom. His martyrdom did not come as a surprise, as there had been many assassination attempts on his life before.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav recalled how precisely one year ago, together with the Archbishop of Vilnius and the bishops of the UGCC, he solemnly opened the Jubilee Year of St. Josaphat with a prayer at his tomb and thanked Bishop Gintaras for making this anniversary a joint experience: “Thank you for commemorating St. Josaphat and thus healing the contemporary wounds of Europe and Ukraine.”
The Head of the UGCC thanked the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine and all the bishops, priests, and laity for attending the Liturgy, especially noting the Lithuanian delegation. His Beatitude Sviatoslav greeted the fathers and sisters of the Basilian Order, from whom St. Josaphat came, and the Ukrainian Pontifical College in Rome, named in his honor. Students of the college accompanied the Divine Liturgy with singing.
Separately, the Head of the UGCC addressed the Ukrainian pilgrims who arrived in Rome that day in such numerous numbers and proceeded to Confession and Communion: “Apparently, for Josaphat, this is the greatest honor that we could do together as God’s people on the day of his memory. For it was he who commanded us to do everything to be free from sin through the Sacrament of Confession and to be united with the Lord God with all our lives by the power of the Blood and Body of the crucified Savior.”
photo: Roman Paliukh
