On January 11, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi paid an unofficial visit to the Ukrainian Catholic University. As well as the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University Fr. Bohdan Prakh, who told
the history of the establishment of the institution: from the Lviv Theological Academy, which was founded by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi, and was then headed by Father Yosif Slipy, to the restoration of the activities of the LBA (now UCU) in independent Ukraine, led by Bishop Borys Gudziak.
During the meeting with the President, Father Rector told the secret of the success of the university, which has developed a large network of philanthropists around the world, and why UCU has been leading the ranking of admissions for several years in a row: “They trust us because all the processes at our university are transparent. Everything you see at UCU is built on the foundation of Christian values, which are based on God and Ukraine. And it is Christian values that should become the basis for building a civil, highly moral society. Our goal is for UCU graduates to go into the world: into the government, public organizations, business, social spheres, and scale the influence of our university – implement changes in places and build a renewed Ukraine.”
Father Bohdan Prah also said that many students, teachers and graduates of the Ukrainian Catholic University are currently fighting at the front. Unfortunately, 13 Heroes from the UCU community died in battles with the Russian invaders. Also, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the university has organized a volunteer center that has already raised more than 6 million dollars to help Ukraine during the war: Ukrainian soldiers, people fleeing the war or living in the war zone. “Our main focus is medical assistance for military hospitals, procurement of medicines and medical supplies. UKU is a kind of center where benefactors from all over the world send aid. These include products, clothing, hygiene products. In the first months of the invasion, the university also became a shelter for many children and people with special needs, who could live in the university and receive psychological and spiritual support,” added Fr. Bohdan Prah.
Ukrainian Catholic University is one of the leading universities of Ukraine. For several years in a row, UKU leads the ranking of higher education institutions based on the scores of external examinations for the contract form of education. With the beginning of the war, the university did not stop the educational process, on the contrary, education here became even more socially oriented in order to respond to the challenges of the time.
UKU has 11 bachelor’s and 15 master’s programs. About 1,900 students study here every year. The university has more than 150 academic partners around the world.
UCU, the only Catholic university from Poland to Japan, inherited and continues the scientific activity of the Greek Catholic Theological Academy, which was created in 1928-1929 in Lviv by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi, and headed by its first rector, Fr. Joseph the Blind.