A close friend of mine had a friend who was dying of cancer. When this man got his diagnosis his wife left him. She had never envisioned a life in which she would have to care for a dying husband. I have no idea whether she was incredibly shallow or had some severe phobia about disease and death.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica March 25, the Vatican said.

LVIV, Ukraine-- "I've come with the three most sophisticated Gospel weapons: prayer, fasting and alms," Cardinal Konrad Krajewski told reporters in Western Ukraine March 10 as he prepared to head toward Kyiv and other cities under Russian bombardment.

Ivanka Galadza is not the sort of person who ever expected to go to war, nor would any of her Ottawa neighbours pick the slight young woman out as a warrior. But with a pen and a sheet of paper, Galadza can concentrate the strength she inherited from priests and poets who resisted the Soviet empire.

Two weeks into the war in Ukraine, Lily Hordienko, principal at St. Demetrius Catholic School in Etobicoke, received a phone call from a parent letting her know that their son would not be in school that day. The family, the mother told Hordienko, hadn’t slept a wink all night. Her father was taking the train from Kiev to their family home in the western part of the nation. The train was under bombardment by Russian forces, The anxiety and uncertainty of the journey in midst of the crisis prevented parent and children from getting any rest.

BARABÁS, Hungary (CNS) -- As millions of Ukrainian refugees continue to flee the ongoing violence of Russian aggression, many have found some comfort in neighboring Hungary thanks to the efforts of Caritas.

As an ordinary Ukrainian far from home, Maria Ivaniv has struggled with all the emotions the outbreak of war was bound to fuel — fear, anger, despair and confusion. As a theologian, she looks to the Church for hope.

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.

VATICAN CITY -- Two cardinals arrived at separate destinations on one mission entrusted to them by Pope Francis: to bring relief, hope and encouragement to suffering Ukrainians.

Cash and care go hand in hand in the Catholic response to the crisis in Ukraine.

Mine is a journey of prayer, prophecy and denunciation. I (left) Rome on March 8 to reach Budapest and I will continue by meeting refugees and displaced persons, and those who welcome and assist them. 

VATICAN CITY -- In a telephone call with Russia's foreign minister, the Vatican secretary of state "conveyed Pope Francis' deep concern about the ongoing war in Ukraine," the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY -- As the Russian military continues to bombard Ukraine, the Vatican is mobilizing efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to those suffering.

PRZEMYSL, Poland -- Buses, broken suitcases, a pile of strollers and tents stuffed with donated clothing, toys, diapers, canned food, stiff cots and blankets fill the parking lot of the defunct Tesco supermarket in Przemysl.

VATICAN CITY -- Catholic and Orthodox leaders in Europe have appealed to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, urging him to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.