A second Oblate community has been founded in
Kiev, located 12 km from the community which has existed for years near the
parish of St. Nicolas in central Kiev.
It is very likely the first male religious
community in Ukraine whose main ministry is evangelization through the media.
The three Ukrainian Oblates who make up the community will also take care of
weekend ministry at parishes in Nizhyn and Pryluky, 150 km from Kiev.
The Oblates’ primary work is in the Catholic
Media Centre, which belongs to the Ukrainian Episcopal Conference and includes
several departments. The first is the Information
Agency, which consists of sending, by means of the Internet, daily
information in Ukrainian about the local and universal Church and the Holy
Father. The Oblates are also the webmasters of the official web site, www.catholic-media.org which is
visited daily by over 12,000 people. The second department of the Media Centre
is the “Vodograj” (Waterfall) magazine. It is a 20 page
coloured monthly magazine, an educational and catechetical religious
publication. It is the largest Catholic magazine in Ukraine and former USSR, with
a monthly circulation of 10,000 copies. This magazine has existed in Ukraine
for 10 years and is aimed mainly at young people, ages 8-13. A few months ago,
the Media Centre began publishing a new magazine for younger children, ages
3-8, called “Vodograjczyk” (The Little Waterfall).
A completely new field of work will be the
creation of a Ukrainian version of the American EWTN (Eternal Word Television
Network). Presently we already have the web site in place www.ewtn.org.ua, but there is still a lot to
be done before the Ukrainian version of the programming can begin. In Ukraine
there are less than one million Catholics in a population of over 46 million.
Through a television station in Kiev, we would have access to 800,000 homes and
thanks to this, we will have the opportunity to proclaim Christ to those who
have never heard of Him throughout the entire 20th century when it
was forbidden to preach the Gospel in Ukraine.
Presently the construction of our home as well
as our place of work is underway. At this moment, we feel the same joy that
overwhelmed the heart of our Founder at the beginning of the Congregation,
because, as he did, we also lack adequate housing and share the little we have.
Our community has chosen as our patrons the
Oblate Spanish Martyrs, who will be beatified on December 17 of this year. We
are planning to make large paintings of them for our future chapel. In one
painting, they will surround the Founder and in the other, the statue of the
Blessed Mother which is in the General House chapel. (Pavlo VYSHKOVSKYY)
