"May the Queen of Peace save the world from the madness of war" - Pope Francis prays and invites us to join in this prayer and fasting.

The world's attention is now focused on Ukraine and on the drama of senseless war that is taking place before our eyes. My generation (40+ years old) has never seen such a bloody conflict in Europe. We lived in a time of peace, rising living standards, barriers at the borders of many countries were removed for us, we got passports, thanks to which we could fly around the world, and technological progress opened horizons for us that our grandparents never dreamed of. Suddenly, on February 24, 2022, we woke up in a different world... We realized that there is a war going on abroad, people are dying.

We, as Poles, know very well what it means. Poland bled itself out of the wars many times, we were occupied. There was a time when Poland disappeared from the world’s map. Today we know that at this point the most important thing is to save the victims of the war in Ukraine. As priests of the Sacred Heart, we join the wave of aid flowing from Poles towards Ukrainians. We also help because our religious Congregation has been present in Ukraine since 1997. Among other places few years ago, we took over the pastoral care of the parish in Irpin near Kiev.

Few days ago I called Andrzej, my seminary friend, who is a vicar in Irpin. This means that the priests of the Sacred Heart live only 9 kilometres from the airport in Hostomel, for which fierce fighting was currently taking place, and 26 kilometres from the very centre of the capital of Ukraine. On the phone I heard the following words: "Pray for us, pray, pray ... Piotrek, the war is in full swing, the Russian army is coming to Kyiv. We can also hear the Ukrainian artillery shelling the airport in Hostomel all the time. I never expected to experience war as an adult… I already survived war as a kid in the 1992 at the Moldova-Transnistria border, but then I did not understand what was happening. Now what I know and hear is terrible for me ... So far, there have been no fights on our streets. We only had a few hours without electricity, so now we charge our cell phones and power banks. The Internet works all the time. We celebrate Holy Masses which is broadcast on-line. Today, there were six parishioners at such a Mass”.

I must admit that the shivers ran down my spine during our conversation, because I was aware that in the sight of the inhabitants of the religious house in Irpin there is artillery, which is firing. Both Ukrainians and Russians are dying. It is difficult to find words in the face of the enormity of this tragedy.

Fr. Piotr Chmielecki SCJ

PROJECT SUMMARY

Helping the victims of the war in Ukraine has been one of our most important projects almost from the very first day of the full-scale war in our neighboring country, which began on February 24, 2022. Over the past four years, a genuine network of support, cooperation, and friendship has emerged, born out of the extremely difficult reality of war, pain, and suffering.

In the first half of 2026 alone, we provided USD 75,000 in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine, including:
• USD 24,000 to the Dominican Sisters for humanitarian aid transports from Poland to Zhovkva, near Lviv,
• USD 9,500 for our shipment of household cleaning and hygiene supplies to the Dominican Sisters in Zhovkva;,
• USD 38,100 to the Kulbabka Foundation in Zhytomyr (funds donated by the Dehonian Fathers from Germany),
• USD 3,400 to enable young people attending the Saturday Polish Language School in Zhovkva, run by the Dominican Sisters, to participate in the Sacred Heart Youth Days in Pliszczyn.

From February 2022 to July 2026, we provided a total of USD 618,800 (PLN 2,321,080) in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine. This remarkable level of support was made possible thanks to the solidarity of the Dehonian Fathers from around the world, with the Dehonian Fathers in Germany making an especially significant contribution.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our Donors, Volunteers, and Friends of the Dehonian Missions. Thanks to your generosity and trust, for more than four years we have been able to bring hope and practical assistance to those who have remained in Ukraine and continue to face the hardships of war every day.

The conclusion of this dedicated fundraising campaign does not mean the end of our support for Ukraine. We will continue to respond to the needs identified by our missionaries, using resources from the "Donation for missions where it is most needed" fund.