Religious sisters in Ukraine relieve the pain

A community of nuns in western Ukraine near the border to Slovakia is rallying to help people desperate to flee from the death and destruction brought on by the Russian invasion.

In a letter circulated to their fellow religious sisters on March 9, the sisters of the Congregation of Jesus in Uzhgorod described their work in helping people cross the border to safety. Here is the text of their latest letter:

Dear sisters and friends:

We are living the fourteenth day of war. The war that destroys and kills, the war that kills humanity and dignity in human hearts….

We are doing our best to relieve the pain experienced by people fleeing the bombardment. In our CJ social centre in Uzhgorod and in our house in Seredne we receive displaced people. Some of them travel further, seeking safety for their children crossing the Slovak border. We help them to cross the border and direct them to good people we know right away. And some settle here for a longer period of time.

We also try to help people with humanitarian aid that we receive from our sisters in Slovakia via Magis and the Czech Republic, and from the Slovak humanitarian organization Smile as a Gift. We then distribute this humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian soldiers, for the displaced people in our country, and we also move on to where there is a humanitarian crisis.

Thank you for your prayers and also for all the efforts to help us and those most affected by the war.

Sisters Kristína, Marietta and Xénia from Uzghorod