A commemorative plaque dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the apostolic visit of Saint Pope John Paul II to Ukraine has been solemnly unveiled at the St George’s complex in Lviv. The memorial has been installed on the grounds of the Archcathedral of St George, where the Pontiff prayed and stayed during his visit to the city in June 2001.
Taking part in the unveiling were the Head of Office of the Executive Committee of Lviv City Council Yevhen Boyko, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv Ihor Vozniak, Rector of the Archcathedral of St George Fr Roman Kravchyk, and the faithful.
The commemorative plaque has been fixed to a stone wall of the complex. It bears an engraved portrait of Pope John Paul II and an inscription in Ukrainian and English recalling that it was here, in St George’s Cathedral, that the Pope prayed, and that he stayed in the Metropolitan’s Palace during his visit to Lviv in 2001.
After the unveiling of the memorial, a spiritual and artistic programme entitled “Totus Tuus” took place in the church. The event featured excerpts from the oratorio of the same name by Myroslav Volynsky, written on the basis of texts by Saint John Paul II and poems by Anna Volynska. Musical accompaniment was provided by the choir and orchestra of the Merited Academic Capella of Ukraine “Trembita” and the Symphony Orchestra of the Opera Studio of the Mykola Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy, conducted by People’s Artist of Ukraine Mykola Kulyk.
“All these commemorative events that have been taking place in Lviv over the past two months give us a unique opportunity to feel even more deeply and to rethink that great gift of holiness with which the Lord blessed Ukrainians during this historic visit 25 years ago,” said Yevhen Boyko.
As part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of John Paul II’s visit, the main event was the Great Solemn Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv. The service was led by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Joining the Liturgy were 120 priests and 43 bishops, including from Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas.
Throughout June, a series of spiritual, educational, cultural, artistic and youth events dedicated to the anniversary of the Pope’s visit were organised in Lviv. On 20 June, in particular, a cycling pilgrimage was held along the Pope’s route in Lviv: 120 participants rode from the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sykhiv to St George’s Cathedral along the road taken by the papal motorcade 25 years ago.
To mark the anniversary, a large banner depicting John Paul II and bearing the inscription “25 years since the visit of Saint Pope John Paul II” was placed on Lviv City Hall. A photo exhibition entitled “The Pope and Sykhiv” was opened in a Lviv church, and billboards with a QR code linking to the detailed programme of celebrations were installed around the city. As part of the commemorations, a memorial tree was also planted and a special cancellation of a postage stamp in honour of the anniversary of the visit was carried out with the participation of His Beatitude Sviatoslav at Lviv City Council.
Pope John Paul II paid an official visit to Ukraine in June 2001. It was the first official visit in history by the Head of the Catholic Church to our country. The Pontiff visited Kyiv and Lviv. In Lviv he stayed from 25 to 27 June, met with young people near 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 proclaimed 28 new martyrs of the UGCC and two clergy of the RCC blessed.