Giving Ukrainian children hope that strengthens hearts in times of war

By Alina Anastasia Petrauskaite, SCM  

How can we help children and adolescents preserve the joy of childhood when war rages around them?

In an interview with Vatican News, Iryna Nazarenko – Secretary of the Youth Pastoral Ministry Commission of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, coordinator of Roman Catholic education, and teacher at the “Vsesvit” Salesian Private Lyceum in Zhytomyr – speaks about their daily work with the younger generation, children’s letters to the front line, special moments of community prayer, and where she finds the strength to ward off despair.

Church ministry: from football tournaments to spiritual healing

According to Iryna Nazarenko, the Youth Pastoral Ministry Commission of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese was fully formed in its current composition under the leadership of Fr. Michał Wocial, SDB, shortly before the full-scale invasion.

Its team includes priests, religious sisters, and active young people from various parishes.

“Since we organize our events for young people, it is crucial for us to hear their thoughts and desires. All the more so because they want to serve the Church, children, adolescents, and their peers,” emphasized the commission’s secretary.

Through diverse activities, the organizers strive to create an environment that combines safe recreation, genuine joy, and the experience of a living Church, helping children and young people find inner peace and spiritual strength.

They have organised the Diocesan Children’s Day for several consecutive years. This year, more than 300 young participants, together with priests and entertainment staff, had the opportunity to escape, if only briefly, from the anxiety of daily life during wartime.

The Diocesan Children’s Day in 2026

An essential element of formation is the integration of sports and evangelization, particularly through the annual Bishop’s Cup football tournament. To unite children and youth around the Word of God, Bible Olympiads and a Biblical Agape are organized.

Furthermore, according to Iryna Nazarenko, the Salesian Animation School has proven highly successful in teaching adolescents and young people volunteerism, teamwork, communication skills, and service to their peers.

A particularly profound experience was this year’s Adolescents’ Day, which gathered approximately 400 participants. The event lasted three days and culminated in the Solemnity of Pentecost.

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The program was carefully designed to help young people experience a living encounter with Christ during this challenging stage of their personal formation.

Iryna Nazarenko recalls that hosting so many teenagers under one roof initially “felt like a real hurricane,” but this energy was transformed into peace during prayer.

Special tents were set up during the event where priests were available for spiritual guidance and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priests were deeply moved by the number of boys and girls who sought confession or spiritual direction, searching for answers to their inner anxieties.

The realities of war: loss, bomb shelters, and letters to the front line

Ukrainian children today face challenges that no child should ever have to endure, yet the Church and educators are doing everything possible to help them remain steadfast amid profound suffering.

Iryna Nazarenko notes that wartime is a severe trial for everyone and that the word “stress” is simply not sufficient to describe the reality.

Many alumni of the lyceum have lost loved ones on the front lines – an unspeakable pain that, as the teacher notes, can only be endured with God’s help.

“Children and teenagers pray intensely for those on the front lines who are defending them while they walk to school each day. We also pray together. And it is a profound joy to see a child’s happiness upon receiving news that a loved one, who had been out of contact for a long time, has finally called and is alive,” Iryna shares.

Today, the educational process is frequently interrupted by air-raid sirens, forcing teachers and students to spend hours in bomb shelters.

This is deeply exhausting for the children, yet they continue to come to the lyceum every day and sincerely thank God simply for the gift of a new day and the opportunity to learn.

Mass presided over by Auxiliary bishop of the Kyiv–Zhytomyr, Oleksandr Yazlovetsky, during the Diocesan Children’s Day 2026

Supporting the defenders of Ukraine has become an inseparable part of parish and school life. Children actively create postcards and write letters of gratitude decorated with national symbols, which volunteers then deliver to the front lines.

These drawings and messages speak so powerfully that it is often impossible to hold back tears.

Iryna Nazarenko recalls a particularly moving moment at Christmas when she and her students went to sing carols at a military hospital. Wounded soldiers listened to the children and wept, while dozens of children’s drawings hung above their beds.

With tears in their eyes, the soldiers repeated that children are the very reason they risk –and even give – their lives at the front.

Living one day at a time: Where can strength be found amid the shelling?

Having remained in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Iryna Nazarenko testifies that Ukrainians now live with the awareness that no one knows whether they will wake up tomorrow, as enemy attacks continue to destroy cities and claim innocent lives.

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In these conditions of constant danger, her enduring anchor is deep faith and the sacraments. Prayer provides inner strength, and the teacher admits that she simply cannot imagine surviving this tragic time without God and regular participation in the Eucharist. Her hope rests entirely on God’s mercy and protection.

“I wake up every day and see how the Lord gives me the strength to work with children, to teach them, to speak with them, and to bring them light. And so, I continue,” concluded Iryna Nazarenko.