“May forgiveness – given and received – spread like a healing balm in every heart. Through the purification of historical memory, may all be ready to place what unites above what divides, so that together they may build a future based on mutual respect, fraternal cooperation and authentic solidarity”, said Pope John Paul II 25 years ago in Lviv during a homily delivered on the occasion of his pilgrimage to Ukraine.
In a few days, 25 years will have passed since Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Ukraine. It was the first and only pilgrimage of the Holy Father to Poland’s eastern neighbor.
The apostolic journey of John Paul II to Ukraine in 2001 had enormous significance for the young Ukrainian statehood.
“It was thanks to the presence of John Paul II in Kyiv and in Lviv that many people around the world became aware that there exists such a country in Europe as independent Ukraine”, recalls Vatican Radio.
An important dimension of the papal pilgrimage was also an attempt at Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation, as well as improving relations between the Churches in Ukraine.
This is how the role of the Holy Father was described years later, in 2021, to Vatican Radio by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk:
“John Paul II came to Ukraine to heal the wounds of memory. He was aware that Europe, especially Eastern Europe, remains wounded after World War II. These wounds still hurt and continue to bleed somewhere in our memory and conscience. I remember – it happened before my eyes – during the beatification liturgy on June 27, 2001, my predecessor Cardinal Huzar officially asked for forgiveness for all the wrongs that the Ukrainian nation had inflicted on its neighbors throughout history. This reconciliation and this forgiveness, given and received, is a balm, a medicine healing the wounds of Europe”, he said.
In Ukraine, the Polish Pope celebrated four services – two in the Latin rite and two in the Byzantine rite – in Kyiv and in Lviv. In total, approximately 2 million Ukrainians took part in the Masses.
“I come to you, dear citizens of Ukraine, as a friend of your noble nation. I come as a brother in faith, to embrace all Christians who, amid the harshest trials, have remained faithful to Christ. I come in love, to express to all the sons and daughters of this nation, of every cultural and religious tradition, my respect and heartfelt friendship”, said John Paul II during the welcoming ceremony on June 23, 2001.
A special message: “Let us remain in unity”
A particularly significant moment for Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation was the Mass celebrated by the Pope at the Lviv hippodrome on June 26, 2001. According to media estimates, 500,000 faithful took part.
During the service, John Paul II beatified Lviv clergymen – Archbishop Józef Bilczewski and Father Zygmunt Gorazdowski.
In his homily, the Polish Pope, describing the figure of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv, Józef Bilczewski, recalled that “this good and faithful servant of the Lord, inspired by deep spirituality and unceasing love, was loved and respected by all his fellow citizens, regardless of denomination, rite or nationality”.
“There is yet another circumstance that cannot be overlooked on this occasion. Blessed Archbishop Bilczewski was consecrated by Cardinal Jan Puzyna, Bishop of Kraków. Alongside him stood, as co-consecrators, Blessed Józef Sebastian Pelczar, Bishop of Przemyśl, and the Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, the Greek Catholic Archbishop”, said John Paul II.
“Was this not an extraordinary event? The Holy Spirit brought together three great Shepherds, two of whom have already been proclaimed blessed, and the third – God willing – will attain this in the future. This land truly deserved to see them together as they performed the solemn act of establishing another successor of the Apostles. It deserved to see them united. Their unity remains a sign and a call for the faithful belonging to each of their flocks, who, following their example, are to build communion threatened by the memory of past events and by prejudices born of nationalism”, he added.
The Pope appealed that “the time has come to detach ourselves from the painful past”.
“May forgiveness – given and received – spread like a healing balm in every heart. Through the purification of historical memory, may all be ready to place what unites above what divides, so that together they may build a future based on mutual respect, fraternal cooperation and authentic solidarity”, he said.
He emphasized that Bishops Bilczewski, Pelczar and Sheptytsky call for perseverance in unity.
The following day, the Holy Father celebrated a Mass in the Byzantine rite in Lviv, during which he beatified 28 martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He also met with Ukrainian youth at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Sichiv district.