Author Social Links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Facebook Page
  • Instagram Page
  • Twitter Handle
  • Subreddit
  • LinkedIn Group
  • Telegram Group
  • Pinterest

Block Rosary Crusade Int'l

Propagating the message of Our Lady of Fatima to the ends of the Earth.

  • Home
  • BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
  • _MESSAGE OF FATIMA
  • _STORY OF THE APPARITION OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA
  • _OUR LADY'S FEAST DAYS
  • _STORIES OF THE MIRACLES OF OUR LADY
  • SHOP
  • SAINT OF THE DAY
  • PRAYERS
  • _NOVENAS
  • ABOUT US

Meet Our Sponsor

News

BROKEN VIRGIN MARY STATUE FOUND IN SEMINARY OCCUPIED BY RUSSIANS

Kehinde Dominic Folarin
A damaged statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Major Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Vorzel, Ukraine
A damaged statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Major Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Vorzel, Ukraine

‘A blow from the devil’: Shattered Fatima statue found in Ukrainian Catholic seminary occupied by Russians

Source - Catholic News Agency

When Father Ruslan Mikhalkiv returned on April 7 to the abandoned seminary outside Kyiv where he serves as rector, there was one thing that unsettled him above all others.

It wasn’t the garage, seemingly struck by a rocket, or the front door, which appeared to have been destroyed by an armored vehicle. Nor was it the empty spaces where coffee machines and routers were previously installed. It wasn’t even the bare spot once occupied by a chalice that Pope John Paul II had used during his visit to Ukraine.

It was the shattered statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

“I have been studying for days how exactly it was destroyed,” Mikhalkiv said after finding the Marian image on the floor of the dining room in the Major Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Vorzel.

“At first, we thought the military might have come in and overturned the figure, or perhaps it had been knocked over by a rocket explosion, because the windows there were also broken.”

“I also thought that a shell fragment might have hit the figure.”

Finally, Mikhalkiv settled on another theory about the statue, purchased by the seminary in Fatima, Portugal, for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in 2017.

“In the end, I had the impression that it had been a blow from the devil to the Blessed Virgin Mary, just when we were consecrating Ukraine and Russia to her Immaculate Heart,” the priest said, referring to the worldwide act of consecration on March 25.

“I am not particularly prone to put things in such supernatural terms, but this affair struck me as very unusual.”

“The wily devil, when he loses, what can he do? Only destroy.”

Priests and students evacuated the seminary after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. They found refuge in the neighboring Diocese of Kamianets-Podilski. Russian troops occupied the area surrounding the seminary for weeks.

After they abandoned their positions around the end of March, a small group led by Father Mikhalkiv returned to the seminary in Vorzel, a village neighboring Bucha, where Russia is accused of killing hundreds of civilians.

“When we arrived in Vorzel, the first thing that struck us was an unusual silence,” the priest recalled. “We started to look around the seminary to see what had happened. We quickly realized that a rocket had destroyed our garage.”

“The windows of the remaining cars on the grounds had been shattered and their batteries had been stolen. The shock wave blew out the windows of the seminary.”

After consulting with the Ukrainian military, the group concluded that Russian soldiers had occupied the seminary. When they retreated, they took anything they deemed of value with them, including monstrances, a Bible with a decorated cover, and the chalice that John Paul II had used when he celebrated Mass in Kyiv on June 24, 2001.

Mikhalkiv and his companions had made the trip to assess when staff and students could return to the seminary in the Latin Rite Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr. They concluded that they would have to finish this semester at Horodok, in the neighboring diocese.

“What the next semester will be like, it is difficult to say now, because there are many other practical matters,” the priest.

“For example, there is not even crockery and utensils. We will have to buy them, and right now it is quite difficult to do that.”

As for the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, Father Mikhalkiv noted a further detail. While there is a gaping hole where the face used to be, the facial features themselves — including Our Lady’s dark, wide eyes — were found almost perfectly intact.

“Interestingly, the face of the Virgin Mary has been preserved,” Mikhalkiv said. “I have already started to pick up some pieces, I am sure we will restore it. It will be a special sign for us. Time will tell."
Tags: News
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google+
Kehinde Dominic Folarin

2 comments:

  1. Unknown11:41 pm, April 11, 2022

    Time will tell. Our Mother Mary of Fatima protect Ukraine, forgive protect and intercede on our behalf since I am a sinner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
  2. Anonymous2:45 am, July 01, 2022

    I am without words!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
      Reply
Add comment
Load more...

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Meet our Sponsor

Prayer Request

Name

Email *

Message *

Search This Blog

Translate Blog

Meet Our Sponsor

Powered by Blogger.

You may also like

  • PHOTO CAPTURED ON THE EVE OF THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA
    Cf. -  ChurchPOP Editor [Viral] Stunning photo taken on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima On May 13, 2021, the Universal Church cel...
  • BROKEN VIRGIN MARY STATUE FOUND IN SEMINARY OCCUPIED BY RUSSIANS
    A damaged statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Major Theological Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Vorzel, Ukraine ‘A blow from the de...
  • STORY OF OUR LADY OF MARIENTHAL, SHEDDING COPIOUS TEARS AS IT WAS BEING MOVED TO A HIDDEN MONASTERY
    Feast Day - June 7 13th Century, Germany Marienthal is about an hour from the city of Hagenau, and is one of the best places of p...
  • JUDGEMENT PASSED ON THOSE WHO BROKE THE STATUE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN LEBANON
    Christian Judge imposed an exemplary sentence and the whole country applauds. Back in 2018, in Lebanon, three young People confe...
  • EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE OF APRIL 16, 2005
    In the Philippines, he began to cry loudly on witnessing this miracle On April 16, 2005, in the evening, two sacred hosts descended ...

Follow Us on Facebook

Sponsors

Archive

Story of the Week

MESERET DEFAR SHOWED THE WORLD THE SOURCE OF HER VICTORY

An Ethiopian Athlete at the Olympic Games in 2012, Meseret Defar, on Friday, August 10, won the Gold medal in the 5000 meters Women R...

Tags

  • Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Catechism
  • Devotion
  • Gists
  • Jesus
  • Mary's Stories
  • Message of Fatima
  • News
  • Novena
  • Pope Francis
  • Prayer
  • Readings at Mass
  • saint of the day
Copyright 2022, Block Rosary Crusade Int'l. All rights Reserved.