“We still resist, we still keep our spirit alive”

UISG wants to update you on the situation of some sisters in Ukraine after more than fifty days of war. Sharing their stories and testimonies is fundamental for the UISG family. 

It is necessary to continue to guarantee our listening, our support and our prayers to the sisters who are living one of the worst historical moments of the last few years and who continue to resist, with strength and hope.

We will not, in general, name the congregations or the sisters involved due to the sensitivity of the situation. Their stories tell of lives split in two: the before and after the war and of a great difference between the first days of the conflict and the present ones. 

There is now, in fact, a stronger resistance and an adaptation to the situation. Many congregations have hosted refugees not only from Kiev and Kharkiv but also from other areas under attack.

No place is currently a safe zone in Ukraine, but at the same time, religious communities live now a certain "normality": moments of sharing and dialogue, cleaning, cooking and prayer with guests and children.

All the sisters thank the humanitarian aid that has arrived and continues to arrive.

There are many volunteers on the territory who actively contribute with their support and this appears as a great consolation.

“We have to protect the peace we need”.

  Watch a testimony form Ukraine

Thanks to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, UISG is financially helping female congregations in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Romania to manage at best this emergency.

If you are a sister located in one of these countries and together with your community you are hosting Ukrainian refugees you can apply for a financial support by filling in this FORM and sending it to emergencyuisg@gmail.com.