Pray, fast and help the people of Ukraine
Learn about Catholic Relief Services’ work to aid the Ukrainian refugees from CRS’ Megan Gilbert on the Catholic Forum podcast:
Watch Bishop Koenig via the Diocese of Wilmington’s YouTube channel.
Bishop Koenig to join Pope Francis, bishops and priests, in Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
March 21, 2022 — (Wilmington, Delaware) — The Most Reverend William E. Koenig, Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, will join Pope Francis at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, March 25, 2022 in special prayer as he consecrates Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, followed by the 12:10 Mass, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington, it was announced recently.
In a March 17 letter to Archbishop José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, said, “In the context of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, the Holy Father, Pope Francis will lead an Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th next. The Holy Father intends to invite each Bishop… together with his priests, to join in this act of consecration, if possible, at an hour corresponding to 5 p.m. Rome time.” The official invitation from the Pope and the text of the Prayer of Consecration to be used, will be sent to bishops around the world in the coming days, Archbishop Pierre added.
The prayer service and Mass at the Cathedral, located at Sixth and N. West Streets in the historic Quaker Hill section of Wilmington, are open to the public and will be live-streamed on the Diocese of Wilmington’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/DioceseofWilm.
March 25 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, a day commemorating the announcement of the angel to the Virgin Mary that she would become the mother of Christ (Luke 1:26-38).
Last April, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had appointed Bishop Koenig the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. He was ordained a bishop and installed as the 10th Bishop of Wilmington on July 13, 2021.
The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was established in 1868 and comprises 56 parishes, 18 missions and 27 schools serving the State of Delaware and the nine counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Information about the diocese is available at www.cdow.org.
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Media Contact: Bob Krebs
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You can help the people of Ukraine by making a secure on-line donation to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) at www.crs.org. Thank you for your generosity.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee Releases Statement on Ukraine. Click here.
Pray for Ukraine
Rev. William Gore, OSFS, is an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales who ministers at St. Edmond Parish in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Fr. Gore has ministered for many years to the Ukrainian American community in the mid-Atlantic region of the country. In the 1990s, after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Fr. Gore served as an English teacher at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.
Fr. Gore continues to keep in touch with many of his former students and their families in Ukraine. During this time of war, he has asked us to continue our prayers for peace. Below is a prayer he shared with us to remind us of the suffering and tragedy of war. Let us join our prayers with Christians from the East and West and people of goodwill around the world:
“Lord, O Lord, look down from heaven! See and visit this vineyard and bring it to perfection, for your right hand has planted it. May your hand be upon your sons and daughters of Ukraine whom You affirmed for yourself. Amen.”