STAMFORD, Conn. – Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukrainian Catholic Church will make a pastoral visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford, Conn., on August 9-12. His visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the eparchy’s establishment by the Holy See in 1958 and the annual Holy Dormition Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in Sloatsburg, N.Y.
The schedule of events begins with a benefit banquet on Thursday evening, August 9, in the ballroom of the Sheraton Stamford Hotel. Tickets are $250 per person with all net proceeds earmarked for the patriarch’s ministry of leadership. Remaining tickets may be reserved by contacting the Stamford Chancery office, 203-324-7698, or St. Basil Seminary, 203-324-4578, during weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or online at stamfordeparchy@optonline.net.
On Friday morning, August 10, Patriarch Sviatoslav will concelebrate a divine liturgy with the eparchial clergy at 10 a.m. in the Seminary Chapel, followed by a conference and luncheon.
Later in the day, he will travel to Sloatsburg to be formally welcomed by the Sisters Servants and their special guest from Rome, Sister Sofija Lebedowicz, superior general of the congregation.
Patriarch Sviatoslav then will take part in a number of events associated with the pilgrimage, which begins on Saturday afternoon, August 11, and concludes on Sunday afternoon, August 12.
Several thousand pilgrims are anticipated to take part in the highlight of the patriarch’s pastoral visit – the hierarchical divine liturgy, concelebrated with all the Ukrainian Catholic bishops of the United States, at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. The special guest for the liturgy will be Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
A full schedule of the pilgrimage’s events can be found on the sisters’ website, www.ssmi-us.org.
This year’s pilgrimage also features a special exhibit in St. Mary Villa’s gallery commemorating the 50th anniversary of the historic visit of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj to the Stamford Eparchy in August 1968. Thousands turned out to greet him for the first time in New York City, at summer youth camps in Ellenville, East Chatham and Glen Spey, N.Y., as well as in Sloatsburg. The exhibit has been prepared by the staff of the Stamford Ukrainian Museum and Library.
Patriarch Sviatoslav departs from the Eparchy on Monday, August 13.