Prayer as 'spiritual warfare': Palatine churches hold 2-mile pilgrimage for Ukraine
Olga Byc gets tears in her eyes when she talks about the anguish of worrying about the fate of her cousins in Ukraine.
They live on farmland in the western part of the country, so for now, they are safe. But it's impossible, she said, not to agonize about the dire scenarios the future might hold for them and the country.
"I don't know if I will ever see them again," Byc said.
A ray of sunshine, she said, has been to see how united people from different backgrounds throughout the Chicago area have been in condemning Russia's invasion and war against Ukraine.
"There is so much support," she said. "It's wonderful."
Byc, of Cary, and her brother, Walter Byc of Fox River Grove, were among about 400 people who attended a "Prayer Pilgrimage for Peace" jointly held Thursday afternoon by St. Theresa Catholic Church and Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church, both in Palatine.
The pilgrims gathered at St. Theresa, where they heard a prayer from the Rev. Timothy Fairman. Then they walked about two miles along Northwest Highway and south to Immaculate Conception, where Ukrainian Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk was to lead a prayer. Buses were available to take those who preferred not to walk.
"There was just this deep need to feel like we're doing something - and we can pray," said Nicole Carlisle, communications director for St. Theresa. "That's our spiritual warfare against what's going on."
The Palatine procession of walkers was bookended by a 19th-century icon of the Blessed Mother and Child from Russia, which belongs to St. Theresa and normally is housed in the church's new adoration chapel, and the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The pilgrim statue of the Virgin Mary has been traveling the world since 1947 and is a replica of the one in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal, said Patrick Sabat, program director of World Apostolate of Fatima USA. Sabat said he got a call from his friend, the Rev. Matthew Jamesson, associate pastor at St. Theresa Church, and the pilgrim statue happened to be available to come to Palatine on a two-week break between touring North Carolina and visiting Phoenix, Arizona.
"It's so providential, because the statue is always busy," Sabat said, explaining the Virgin Mary promotes peace through prayer. "She always goes to the places that she wants to go. I'm just our lady's donkey," he added, smiling.
People from throughout the suburbs and as far as Rockford and Springfield flocked to the Palatine procession.
Coleen McDonnell of Huntley said she and her husband, Thomas, came to offer support and prayers to lift the people of Ukraine.
"All the men who are volunteering to fight for their country and never even held a gun in their hand ..." McDonnell said. "Lord have mercy on them. We trust in God's providence."
Lauren Bunks of Schaumburg came with her daughter-in-law and her grandsons, ages 4 and 7. It's important to give children a sense of hope and peace for the world, Bunks said, pointing also to Pope Francis' call for prayer for Ukraine.
"The more people that are against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, I think at some point he's got to give up ... maybe. That's the hope."
The Ukrainian people are united in their fight, said Walter Byc, who wore a yellow-and-blue Dynamo Kyiv soccer shirt with the name "Shevchenko" on his back.
Andriy Shevchenko is a former soccer striker from Ukraine and former head coach of his country's national team. Taras Shevchenko was a foremost 19th-century Ukrainian poet who advocated for the country's independence from Russia.
"There is a lot of meaning" to the name, Byc said, proudly adding his own Ukrainian name is Volodymyr. That's the same as Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who's galvanized his people with his defiant stance in the nation's fight against Russia.