Ukraine, Mattarella at mass in the church of Santa Sofia in Rome

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, went to the Ukrainian basilica of Santa Sofia, in the Roman area of ​​Boccea, to attend Sunday mass. “We ask the Lord for the gift of peace, that the war stop. We ask the Lord that our dead be prophets of the innocence of our land and of the desire for peace. We ask the good Lord to enlighten the powerful of the Earth, from which decisions depend on showing them the way to put an end to a useless war “, said the rector of the church, Fr Marco Yaroslav Semehen, during the Sunday homily. “The geographical center of Europe is in Ukraine. We have chosen our path of being European citizens, of living in a European way in our country, respecting human life, human rights and above all the right to live in independence. “he said again. Today, the first Sunday of Lent, in the Eastern rite it is celebrated with particular solemnity and is called “Orthodoxy”. At 10 the Divine Liturgy (denomination of the Eucharistic celebration in the Byzantine rite) was held in the Ukrainian language, with the blessing of the icons. On the Sundays of Lent, the so-called “St. Basil’s” Divine Liturgy is used, in use only in certain circumstances, instead of the usual “St. John Chrysostom” Liturgy. to the Apostolic Exarchate for the Ukrainian Catholic faithful of the Byzantine rite residing in Italy. The exarchate was erected in 2019 by Pope Francis. Since 2020 the apostolic exarch is Msgr. Paulo Dionisio Lachovicz. Cathedral of the Exarchate is the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, in Piazza della Madonna dei Monti.In 1963, immediately after his return from captivity in a Siberian gulag, archieparch Josyf Slipyj started a fundraiser to build a church in Rome for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church community. The building was designed by the architect Lucio Di Stefano based on the original plans for the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. The construction, which began in 1967, ended in 1969, when, in September, the archieparch Josyf Slipyj and seventeen bishops, in the presence of Pope Paul VI, consecrated it, transferring the relics of Pope Clement I, coming from the basilica of San Clement to the Lateran. The church, dedicated to Divine Wisdom, became a cardinal in 1985 and was elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 1998. The mosaics on the altar are by the Ukrainian artist Sviatoslav Hordynsky. In September 2011, the restoration work on the building was completed, promoted by the “Santa Sofia” Association, which owns the church and the annexed buildings. In the crypt of the basilica are buried, among others, some Ukrainian metropolitans and archbishops, as well as other Ukrainian personalities. Ukraine, was moved to Lviv. Adjacent to the church is the building that was the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome.Rector of the Church of Santa Sofia since 2014 is Fr Marco Yaroslav Semehen, born in Ternopil ‘(Ukraine) in 1980, a priest since 2008 and 2020 president of the religious association “Saint Sophia” for Ukrainian Catholics, which is based in the Basilica. At the Church of Saint Sophia, as well as at the Cathedral in the Monti district, initiatives of prayer and solidarity in favor of the Ukrainian people are underway in these days. Among the prayer initiatives, on Sunday 28 February Msgr. Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary bishop of Rome, presided over a celebration for peace at the church on Via Boccea. On the afternoon of Friday 4 March a Via Crucis took place.As for solidarity, a collection of material aid (clothes, food, blankets, medicines) as well as cash offers was started at the church, with a significant response from of Roman citizens and compatriots residing in the capital. The church and its area constitute the collection and storage point of aid, which is also visible outside the church and also deposited in the parish premises. At the moment 12 trucks have already left for Ukraine with the collaboration of several volunteers. On March 3, Cardinal Krajewski, Almsgiver of His Holiness, also went to the Basilica to deliver medical supplies and subsistence items.