Poland opens its homes, churches, and hearts to Ukrainian refugees

According to the most recent data from Poland’s border guard service, at the time of writing there are nearly two million Ukrainian refugees in the country. Polish society has been generous in assisting Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression, and perhaps no institution has provided as much aid as the Catholic Church. Not since Poland was under martial law forty years ago has the Polish Church provided works of mercy on such an enormous scale. On February 27th, the first Sunday after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I went to the 11:00 Mass at Krakow’s St. Francis’ Basilica, close to where I live. Because the intention of that Mass was peace in Ukraine, not only were the pews closely packed, but there was no place to stand.-- More...