Volunteers of Kherson’s social cuisine.
In the Dominican center San Martino de Porres of Fastiv, in the Kyiv region, they waited with great hope the visit of Pope Francis. Everything was already ready, to host the pontiff. On the top floor of the large building that houses the center, the area intended for volunteers and guests, next to the chapel, a secluded room opens, a small apartment well furnished and well -kept. “We keep him for the Holy Father, if one day he will come to visit us in person,” he said, some time ago, Kateryna Chvalovadirector of the kindergarten and primary school of this great reception center, social services, solidarity works and humanitarian aid founded by the Dominican fathers (https://sanmartin.center).
Pope Francis was unable to go to Fastiv. But he never made his closeness to the San Martino center. A proximity to be experienced in the concreteness of the help through the action of Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, his alms. «We thank God for the life of Pope Francis. We are very grateful to him for everything he has done for us. I thank him for all the prayers he has always addressed to Ukraine in all this war period ». Father Miszka Romanivdirector of the San Martino center, has just returned to Fastiv by Kherson, a cities brusted in the south of Ukraine, on the Dnipro river. Most of the region is under Russian employment and the capital lives under constant attack, With missile raids and drones, which make the city particularly dangerous, continuous target of enemy fire. Most of the population abandoned the city, the streets are deserted. Those who have stayed to live there are closed in the house, we go out only for brevisseximous periods, for the needs.
In Kherson, thanks to the financial support of Pope Francis, in 2023 the San Martino center has created a canteen to provide hot meals to the inhabitants, to people who have nothing more, to the elderly, to the most fragile. In these days, the canteen celebrates its second anniversary. An opportunity for Father Miszka to remember how important Pope Bergoglio was for this work. In addition to the social cuisine, thanks to the help of Francesco, the Dominicans of Fastiv also made an oven in Kherson to extract bread every day to those in need.
Some time ago, social cuisine suffered mortar shots that damaged it. But despite the difficulties, the volunteers have not interrupted the service and continued to prepare and serve meals. Here we work tirelessly, with courage, even in the absence of electricity, without light. «The city and the population of Kherson suffer immensely. The bombings do not select the objectives, affect houses, hospitals. In the areas close to the Dnipro river people live in daily fear. Travels in these places are very difficult, physically and mentally. But the canteen has become a lighthouse of hope for many here, “continues Father Miszka. «When we started with this project, the inhabitants remembered the Russian occupation of the city well, which ended in November 2022. In these two years of commitment, we have prepared and distributed almost 300 thousand hot meals for the remaining inhabitants, for sick people, forced to immobility, to those who are in the hospital, operators and rescuers, to all those who are helping in the city. For us this is a mission, a very important service in war time. Thank you very much to Pope Francis who, through Cardinal Krajewski, supported this activity in the first year. In 2022 the Pope sent us a support letter. Thanks also for every word and every gesture with which he showed us the merciful face of his father ».
(Photo: Father Miszka Romaniv with the operators and volunteers of the Kherson canteen, created exactly two years ago thanks to the support of Pope Francis)
