Search
-
CHICAGO — Pilgrims on Horizons’ fall pilgrimage to Central Europe will walk in the footsteps of three holy Ruthenian bishops martyred for the faith and pray at their tombs in Slovakia and Ukraine.
The Byzantine Ruthenian Church boasts three 20th-century martyrs as outstanding examples of faith in the modern age. The three bishops, Theodore Romzha, Paul Gojdich, and Basil Hopko, all victims of communism, stood for the Gospel in the face of abject hatred of and violence against the church.
Blessed Theodore Romzha was bishop of Mukachevo-Uzhorod in present-day Ukraine, when the region was annexed by the Soviets in 1945. He had been prepared for the role of a missionary bishop for a persecuted church in Soviet territory at the Russicum, a college in Rome founded to train Catholic missionaries to Russia. He urged the underground church to keep the faith by his example. He was beaten and poisoned by the Soviets in 1947.
Blessed Paul Gojdich was bishop of Presov in present-day Slovakia. A zealous missionary priest and pious monk, he was named apostolic administrator of Presov in 1927. In 1950, the Communists took over the region. He was arrested and accused of being an enemy of the state. In prison, he remained an exemplary Christian, choosing to do the dirty work so as to embrace fully Christian humility.
Blessed Basil Hopko was a dedicated Byzantine Catholic priest, having founded the first Byzantine Catholic parish in Prague. As auxiliary bishop of Presov, he was forcibly imprisoned by the communists. He later was released and suffered greatly from mental anguish associated with his imprisonment, yet remained committed to the Gospel.
The pilgrimage will offer moments to learn more about these blesseds who died for their commitment to the Church of Roma.
For information on the Sept. 16-28 pilgrimage to Central Europe, go to www.parma.org, email [email protected] or call (216) 470-3287.
Caption: Blessed Theodore Romzha was killed by the Soviets in 1947. Pilgrims will go to Ukraine to venerate his relics.
As published in Horizons, June 17, 2018.
Sign up for the e-newsletter.
