Lviv to be site of shrine dedicated to Blessed Nicholas Charnetsky
"Here I will stay forever this is the home I have chosen." - Psalm 132:14
by the Rev. Mykhaylo Voloshyn
LVIV - During the divine liturgy that Pope John Paul II celebrated in Lviv on June 27, 2001, 27 Ukrainian Catholics - referred to as "Blessed Venerable Martyr Nicholas Charnetsky and his Companions" were beatified as martyrs and confessors of the faith. Such heroes of the faith, who bore witness of their loyalty to the ideals of the Gospel with their very lives, are treasured by all nations and all Churches. They are not only our pride and the proof of the vitality of our Church but also our holy intercessors before God. Through them we receive God's abundant graces and, at times, miraculous healings and reprieve from hopeless situations.
Nicholas Charnetsky was born on December 14, 1884, to a poor peasant family in the village of Semakivtsi. Having successfully completed his seminary studies, he was ordained a priest in 1909 by Bishop Hryhorii Khomyshyn. In 1919, Father Nicholas entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists), and in 1934 he was consecrated as bishop and designated as the apostolic visitator to Ukrainians in the Volyn and Polissia regions.
On April 11, 1945, Bishop Charnetsky was arrested by agents of the KGB and thus began his veritable "Way of the Cross" through 30 Soviet prisons and slave-labor camps, where he survived over 600 hours of interrogation and torture. In 1956, fully exhausted and physically destroyed, he was released from prison and was allowed to return to Lviv, where, on April 2, 1959, he went to his eternal reward.
The veneration of a potential saint normally commences only after the official proclamation of his beatification or even his canonization; however, in the case of the Blessed Venerable Martyr Nicholas Charnetsky, this began much sooner. Ukrainian faithful, spontaneously and intuitively experienced his holiness. Almost immediately after his death, this confessor of the faith was venerated as a saint and his grave at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv became a renowned pilgrimage site. A saint's prayers have great power before God, and the Lord Jesus confirms this in supernatural ways. The archives contain hundreds of documented instances of the Blessed Nicholas' intercession.
On July 4, 2002, the relics of the martyr Nicholas Charnetsky were solemnly transferred from the Lychakiv Cemetery to the Church of St. Josaphat, which is under the pastoral care of the Redemptorist Fathers of the Lviv Pro-vince. A procession of many thousands of faithful passed through the streets of the ancient royal city.
During the first week that the holy relics were on display at the Church of St. Josaphat, nearly 150,000 faithful arrived from all parts of Ukraine to offer their personal prayers at the reliquary of the Blessed Nicholas, our own "St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker."
Since the deposition of the relics of Blessed Venerable Martyr Nicholas Charnetsky, the Church of St. Josaphat has become a popular pilgrimage site for thousands of faithful from all of Ukraine. From morning to late evening, people come, bearing their pain and grief, their worries and their problems, to pray at the reliquary of the Blessed Nicholas in the hope of recovering their spiritual strength and physical health.
Religious celebrations, involving the anointing of the faithful with oil that has touched the relics of the confessor bishop, are conducted on a monthly basis. People throng to this site, absolutely convinced that whoever sincerely prays to God through the intercession of saintly martyr Nicholas, will assuredly be heard by Our Lord.
On July 11, 2002, a memorial cross was consecrated on one of the scenic hills in the city of Lviv, marking the future site of the Shrine of Blessed Venerable Martyr Nicholas Charnetsky. This site wwill become a true center for pilgrimage of our Ukrainian people, a church where future generations, in an atmosphere of prayer and devotion, may partake of the ageless faith of our holy forefathers and also invoke their intercession for God's blessings and graces to live good Christian lives.
At this holy shrine we all may freely glorify Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in heartfelt thanksgiving for divine protection of our long-suffering and persecuted Ukrainian people, especially for the gift of liberation from the totalitarian Soviet regime and the return of freedom to our Ukrainian Catholic Church.
We sincerely entreat all people of good will to join in this spiritual endeavor and to generously contribute to the creation of the Shrine of Blessed Nicholas Charnetsky in Lviv.
Funds may be transferred to or checks may be payable to: St. John's Church - Charnetsky Fund (Account No. 310530-000), Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, 734 Sandford Ave., Newark, NJ 07106.
Points of contact:
The Rev. Mykhaylo Voloshyn is provincial of Lviv Redemptorists.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 6, 2003, No. 27, Vol. LXXI
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