Youth pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia was held

The words of the Holy Scripture “Come and follow me” was the slogan of 17^th All-Ukrainian youth pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia, which took place on June 25-27. Approximately 12 thousand faithful participated in the three-day pilgrimage, devoted to the year of monastic vocation. Over 2 thousand pilgrims walked from different regions of Ukraine. The Ternopil youth carried the relics of Saint Padre Pio, which were brought from San-Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. “A record amount of youth came from Ternopil. Over 550 pilgrims registered near the cathedral, in the end there were close to 700 pilgrims were counted in the procession,” noted Fr. Orest Pavliskyj, vice chairman of the Commission on Matters of Youth in Ternopil-Zboriv eparchy. Youth, priests, and representatives of monastic communities walked over 60 kilometers from Ternopil to Zarvanytsia. Spiritual leaders shared their vocation stories and priests shared the Holy Sacrament of Confession, and also held spiritual conversations. The pilgrims stopped at every where prayer services were held to celebrate the holy Padre Pio, and local priests and believers welcomed and entertained the young pilgrims. In Zarvanytsia the pilgrims welcomed the vicar of the Khmelnytskyj vicariate Father Mitrat Dmytro Kvych, who headed the Divine Liturgy. In his address he stated in particular: “Your souls, your hearts, began this pilgrimage because they wanted to meet with God. They experienced a true cleansing and became the deserving recipient of God’s grace… Let God  operate in our life, give the Heavenly Father the right to oneself because He wants and can make us happy.” After the Liturgy the pilgrims walked with candles and the relics of Padre Pio to a miraculous spring, where a prayer service was held and water was blessed. At midnight a concert was held. On June 27 Bishop Vasiliy (Semenyuk), the eparch of Ternopil-Zboriv, led the solemn Hierarchal Liturgy on a podium near the Zarvanytsia Mother of God Cathedral. “My heart is filled today with gladness because I see plenty of God’s children who walk the difficult road for the vocation to the monastic life. Let the Lord reward you with generous kindness, give you strength and energy in the struggle for Christ’s truth,” stated the hierarch. The Liturgy was celebrated by the chairman of the Ternopil Oblast State Administration Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, head of the Ternopil regional council Oleksiy Kayda, and head of Terebovlya regional administration Yuriy Dzyuban. The bishop thanked the state officials and the donors for helping organize the pilgrimage. The bishop blessed the graduate of the Ternopil Patriarch Joseph Slipyj Spiritual Seminary Deacon Volodymyr Horoshko and graduate of the Lviv Holy Spirit Spiritual Seminary Deacon Paulo Myts.  At the end the hierarch blessed the pilgrims with holy water.

Fr. Oleh Kharyshyn,

Press secretary