Mother’s Day Celebrated for Tenth Time in Rome

On Sunday, May 9, Ukrainians in Italy celebrated Mother’s Day for the tenth time. Though the first holiday in 2000 was not celebrated on such a large scale, it led to the establishment of a great tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day by Ukrainians in Italy near the St. Sofia Cathedral in Rome. This joyous holiday for Ukrainians in Italy is rich in memories, emotions, and, at the same time, tears.  The organizers of this year’s Mother’s Day were the Apostolic Visitor for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Italy Fr. Bishop Dionisiy (Lyakhovych) and Saint Sofia, the religious society for Ukrainians Catholics in Italy, which is headed by Fr. Ivan Datsko, Ph.D.  The executive director of this holiday is the pastoral coordinator for Ukrainians Greek Catholics in Italy Fr. Oleksandr Sapunko. Traditionally celebrations begin on Saturday morning with excursions through the Eternal City and in the evening the participants can take part and show their talents at a concert which takes place in front of the Saint Sofia Basilica. On Saturday performed the band Kalyna from Salerno, Anna Synytska from Florence, Natalia Ruda and Volodymyr Kramar, the youth of the Roman Ukrainian parish of Sts. Serhiy and Bacchus directed by Fr. Andrey Chornenko, members of the parochial choir led by Mrs. Halyna Hromyk, Fr. Oleksiy Saranchuk, pastor of Ukrainian community of the city Venice, the group Pererodzhennya from Milan, and many others. After the concert the audience and performers took part in nightly prayer which was conducted by the Sisters Servants, which began with a Vespers and lecture of Fr. Ivan. After the prayer services and group discussions, the youth gathered around a campfire prepared by the students of collegium of the Protection of the Mother of God. The Sunday’s holiday, as usual, began with the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, which was led by Bishop Dionisiy in concelebration with Fr. Ivan Datsko, Fr. Oleksandr Sapunko, Fr. Maurycius Popadyuk, OSBM, and other priests who together with the faithful arrived from the different cities of Italy. The choir of the Ukrainian Pontifical collegiums in Rome led by Fr. Paulo Serbay performed. Also, representatives of the Italian church took part in the Liturgy: monsignor Gianromano Gnesotto, director of the foundation Migrantes from the Episcopal Conference of Italy, and Pierre Paolo Fellicolo director of Migrantes of the Roman vicariate.  And at 1:30 p.m. the long-awaited concert began with the participation of well-known Ukrainian performers including the folk artist of Ukraine Stephan Hiha together with his son Stephan, honored artists of Ukraine brothers Dmytro and Nazariy Yaremchuk, Angela Verbytska, Iryna Lonchyna, and the group Mari. “Good weather and the emotional songs of the talented performers created a remarkable mood for all who arrived from different corners of Italy for this year’s Mother’s Holiday!” said the organizers of the holiday.

Press service of the UGCC in Italy