In June, Lviv will mark the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ukraine, which took place on 25–27 June 2001. To mark the jubilee, the city has planned almost a hundred spiritual, cultural, artistic and youth events, the Lviv City Council has reported.
The programme was drawn up by the committee for the preparation of the jubilee celebrations, established at the request of Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. It includes representatives of the city and regional authorities, the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Ukrainian Catholic University.
The planned events include festive liturgies, film screenings, a cycling pilgrimage entitled ‘In the Footsteps of Saint John Paul II’, the ‘Pope and Youth’ flash mob, photo exhibitions, as well as the cancellation of a jubilee postage stamp. A dedicated visual identity has been developed especially for the jubilee, which will be used in social advertising on the city’s billboards and citylights.
In May, educational institutions in the community already hosted themed events, and in June universities are planning conferences and round tables. According to the clerics organising the celebrations, the jubilee events are intended to deepen the spiritual memory of Saint John Paul II, strengthen faith, support the unity of society and pass on to young people the witness of Christian hope associated with this visit.
The cycling pilgrimage ‘In the Footsteps of Saint John Paul II’ is scheduled for Saturday, 20 June. It will start at 10:00 by the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv, then proceed to St George’s Cathedral, where participants will be greeted by Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv Ihor Vozniak. The procession will then return to the church in Sykhiv. The aim of the cycling pilgrimage is to present the Pope to young people as an active, athletic and open person.
The jubilee celebrations will be joined by the Ordinary of the Diocese of Spoleto-Norcia, His Excellency Archbishop Renato Boccardo, who in 2001 organised John Paul II’s visit to Ukraine. A Mass with his participation will take place on 27 June at 11:00 in the Church of Saint John Paul II. After the Liturgy, a concert and a parish picnic are planned.
A separate event will be the photo exhibition ‘The Pope and Sykhiv’, which will open on 22 June at 10:00 by the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Archival photographs will show the Pope’s route in Lviv – the blessing of the construction of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Liturgies at the Lviv Hippodrome and the large gatherings of the faithful.
One of the central events of the jubilee will be the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on the square in front of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv, to be led, together with the Synod of Bishops, by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav. The service is scheduled for 28 June at 11:00.
The festivities will conclude on 28 June at 18:00 with a chamber concert by the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv. Among the invited performers are the band ‘Odin v Kanoe’, singer Iryna Fedyshyn, the band ‘Popry Vse’ and several church ensembles. The organisers warn that the programme may be subject to change.
Pope John Paul II visited Ukraine in June 2001 – the first official visit of the Head of the Catholic Church to the country. During his stay in Lviv on 25–27 June he met with young people by the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv and celebrated Liturgies in the Latin and Byzantine rites at the Lviv Hippodrome, during which he beatified 28 new martyrs of the UGCC and two clerics of the RCC.