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A Ukrainian Catholic mass set the tone for the event, which also included a documentary screening highlighting the war’s effects on Ukrainian children.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — On Sunday evening, a heartfelt call for peace resonated through a church in St. Augustine.
The Ukrainian community on the First Coast gathered at the San Sebastian Catholic Church to commemorate and reflect as the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion nears.
“Our hearts ache with everything happening in Ukraine,” expressed Tetiana Momot upon leaving the Prayer for Peace ceremony.
Although Momot relocated to the United States before the onset of the conflict, she continues, four years later, to regularly reach out to friends back home to ensure their safety and well-being.
“Right now, they are living without electricity, without heating, and it was terrible cold weather,” Momot said.
With the fourth anniversary of the war about a week away, Momot attended the event, featuring a Ukrainian Catholic mass and a screening of a documentary about the impact the war has had on Ukrainian children.
Momot is a professor at the University of North Florida, where she says she talks with her students about the war regularly.
“Young people, they see the information in the news and ask about what is going on,” Momot said.
One of her former students even felt compelled to attend the prayer for peace.
“I think it’s important we all come together to support one another, especially the Ukrainians who are going through so many tribulations at this time,” Angelo Azueta said.
Father Roman Kuzminskyi says he drives up from Orlando every other week to put on a mass in Ukrainian.
“My mission is to be with people, pray with people,” said Kuzminksyi. “We’re all praying for people in Ukraine.”
Kuzminskyi says he started the masses in St. Augustine just two weeks before the attack.
“I believe it was God’s blessing for the people here who wanted to pray together, especially when war started,” Kuzminskyi said.
So, he’ll keep making the bi-weekly trek, and Momot will keep checking in on her friends as they enter into Year five of the war.
“Doing everything possible to survive and pray for peace every day in our country,” Momot said.