Sudowa Wyschnja is a small town within the Lviv oblast, in West Ukraine. The Latin Catholic parish here and its two sub-parishes are run by the Franciscans and make up a very lively and active parish. There are around 350 parishioners, with many young families and various different parish groups. The members of the Franciscan Third Order, or lay Franciscans, care lovingly for their church and help to make sure that the liturgy is celebrated worthily. There is a „living Rosary“ group who pray the Rosary daily, and another group involved in social work, helping the needy and especially the elderly. There are regular catechetical sessions for children, young people and adults, and many altar servers also.
During communist times the church itself was almost totally destroyed, and had to be rebuilt after the changes. However, there have been many problems with penetrating damp in the church tower, and rocket attacks in 2022 and a nearby military base with its consequent heavy groundshocks have left the church tower badly damaged. Cracks have appeared, and large lumps of plaster keep falling down, endangering people‘s lives and leaving the building unstable. Owing to the danger, the authorities are now threatening to close the building, and meanwhile the faithful can only enter the church, which is dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, through the sacristy.
The parish priest, Father Berard Zadoyko has appealed to us urgently for help so that the walls of the tower can be stabilised and the loose plaster removed and replaced. We have promised him 20,000 Euros, so that the Catholic faithful in Sudowa Wyschnja can once again worship in safety inside their church.