Ukrainian society of Rome honors the memory of Saint Josaphat

The Ukrainian society of Rome, on November 12, 2009, honored the memory of the Holy Martyr Saint Josaphat by celebrating a solemn Divine Liturgy on his tomb in the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican. Representatives of Belarusian Greek Catholic Church also took part in the prayer. Fr. Vasyliy Kovbych, OSBM, Proto-archimandrite of the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, led the Divine Liturgy and gave the sermon. The mass was concelebrated with Archimandrite Syargiy Gaek, Apostolic Visitor of Greek Catholics of Belarus, rectors of the Ukrainian Pontifical Colleges in Rome, and over 30 priests. Representatives of all Ukrainian monastic communities of the Eternal City, seminarians, and laymen, joined in the general prayer.  During the sermon Fr. Vasyliy recalled the history of relics of St. Josaphat, which for centuries encountered different dangers and even a certain period of neglect, and also persecution from the enemies of the church’s unity. Now they are set in the Vatican’s basilica, where they are a sign that unity of differences is possible. Describing the main virtues of the holy martyr – the readiness to regenerate, the readiness to sacrifice, and the willingness to make an effort for the sake of unity and for the endurance of good – the preacher remarked that the best way to honor and remember the saint is to emulate the mentioned virtues, in accordance with modern requirements and circumstances, and the necessities of the church.

http://www.radiovaticana.org/ucr/Articolo.asp?c=333800