A Catholic priest serving near Kyiv has been hoping for peace this Christmas as Ukraine’s Christians continue to live under the daily threat of war.
Father Lucas Perozzi, a Brazilian-born missionary who has served in Ukraine for 22 years, spoke from the town of Bila Tserkva, which is around 62 miles from the capital, where he has been ministering to a small Catholic community.
His comments came as Ukraine faces airstrikes, blackouts and economic hardship since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
When talking about the situation in Ukraine, he mentioned that as temperatures drop rapidly across the country, airstrikes often target energy systems.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Fr Perozzi said his parish longed for God’s presence, explaining: “We hope that God will be present in these holidays, that he will make himself present to us, even if the war does not end.”
“Even when the war does end, problems will remain, we will have the economic hardship and anarchy that comes in the aftermath of conflict,” he added.
He said the conflict had made death a constant reality. “Every day we hear of soldiers killed in the war, and every day there is a burial nearby. We face death every day,” he said.
Fr Perozzi told the Catholic charity that electricity was often cut from four am until five pm, forcing Mass to be celebrated by candlelight. Water, food and heating were unreliable, and prices were rising, he added.
The priest said the community worshipped in a church confiscated during the Soviet era and still owned by the state, which has required annual rental agreements.
Despite the hardship, he said a new parish centre was being built with help from ACN.
Father Perozzi said: “All I really wish for is for God to appear in the life of each person I have been sent to.
“I pray for them every day, for my parishioners, that God might be born unto each of them, because our life here is very fragile.”