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Gallagher in Berdychiv: Prayer for peace to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher prayed for peace in Ukraine at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv, assuring the faithful of Pope Leo XIV’s spiritual closeness and urging them never to lose hope in God.
By Roberto Paglialonga – Berdychiv, Ukraine
More than 3,000 people gathered on the grounds of the Shrine of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv, on the 19th of July, around two hours by car southwest of Kyiv, for celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the restoration of the Latin-rite Catholic Church’s structures in Ukraine.
Families, children and young people, as well as many elderly and vulnerable people, joyfully filled the lawn where Mass was celebrated outdoors for the first time since the war began. Heavy clouds hung overhead, releasing several downpours shortly before the celebration began. The bad weather gradually subsided, however, eventually giving way to warm sunshine unusual for these latitudes.
Berdychiv is home to one of the holiest sites for Catholics in Ukraine and beyond. The city is also known as the birthplace, in 1857, of the British-Polish writer Joseph Conrad, best known for major novels and stories including Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness and The Shadow Line.
Faithful at the shrine awaiting the beginning of the celebration
Twenty-five years since the visit of Saint John Paul II
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher is on the fourth day of his mission to the country as Pope Leo’s Special Envoy for this particular occasion, which in 2026 is also being observed in the context of commemorations marking 25 years since Saint John Paul II’s historic visit.
It is a “twofold mission, both pastoral and diplomatic,” involving numerous meetings with the political authorities, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations stressed in his homily. Above all, however, it enables him to “be united with you in prayer, particularly with the sick and those who are suffering,” and to invoke before Our Lady the gift of peace and justice, especially for “dear” Ukraine.
“Mother of God and Mother of the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel, we now turn to you, before the miraculous icon venerated here, with our prayer of praise to God and our supplications that He may grant us His peace,” the Archbishop prayed at the beginning of the celebration.
A night of heavy bombardment in Kyiv
Peace is more necessary than ever for a country devastated by nearly four and a half years of war. Kyiv endured another night of intense bombardment between Saturday and Sunday. Between approximately 1:25 and 2:45 a.m., heavy missile strikes hit several districts of the capital.
According to the authorities, one person was killed and more than ten others were injured. For many, it was the heaviest attack of its kind since the conflict began.
Some of the approximately 42 Russian ballistic missiles launched from Bryansk, Kursk and Rostov, along with around one hundred drones, also struck the neighbourhood housing the Apostolic Nunciature, where Archbishop Gallagher and the delegation accompanying him are staying. The blasts caused the building’s glass doors to shake and forced much of its staff—as well as the author of this report—to spend the night in a designated shelter.
The procession with the icon
Arrival at the Berdychiv shrine and procession with Our Lady
Accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio to Kyiv, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Archbishop Gallagher arrived on Sunday morning at the Carmelite monastery in the Zhytomyr region.
The monastery, which has been designated a national shrine, was built in 1634 at the request of the Voivode of Kyiv, Janusz Tyszkiewicz Łohojski, and consecrated in 1642.
Representatives of the authorities and the accredited diplomatic corps were there to welcome him, together with numerous pilgrims from across the country and other delegations.
The Mass featured evocative hymns in Ukrainian and floral arrangements of sunflowers and blue and yellow roses. Significantly, it was concelebrated by all the members of the Conference of Latin-rite Catholic Bishops and by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who arrived with other Eastern-rite Catholic faithful.
Many of those present waved Ukrainian and Polish flags, while hundreds bowed their heads as the procession marking the beginning of the celebration passed by. It was led by the cross, followed by the image of Our Lady: the icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv, painted in the style of the ancient Salus Populi Romani icon and venerated in this land since at least the 16th century.
The closeness of Pope Leo XIV
“I urge everyone to hold especially close to their hearts those who are suffering most because of the war,” said Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi, the Catholic Ordinary of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, in his opening message of welcome.
He stressed that these people are most in need of God’s intervention and the intercession of the Virgin Mary, before expressing his gratitude to the Pope.
Before exploring the common thread running through the three Scripture readings, Archbishop Gallagher conveyed “the greetings of Pope Leo XIV” and assured everyone of “His spiritual closeness.”
Beginning his homily—which he personally delivered in Italian at the beginning and end, while the remaining sections were read in Ukrainian by Bishop Eduard Kava of Kamianets-Podilskyi—the Special Envoy asked those present whether anyone “better than God, our Creator and Saviour,” knows “the paths of peace,” understands “humanity’s suffering” and is “capable of restoring the meaning of life to us, strengthening and renewing us.”
He also asked whether anyone could accompany us and intercede “for us” before God “better than the Mother of God.”
The power of prayer and peace as God’s gift
The Book of Kings recounts how Elijah had to raise his prayer to God seven times before he was heard and his request granted.
The prophet encountered the Lord on Mount Carmel and, because of this, was certain that God would send “life-giving rain upon His people and their land.” His prayer was therefore persistent.
“Elijah had already persevered through a long period of persecution by men, and he once again showed himself to be persevering and trusting to the very end,” said the Archbishop.
“Elijah’s example therefore encourages us not to lower our arms, not to despair amid difficulties, but to remain tireless in prayer and keep our hope in God alive.”
Although the Lord initially appears not to respond in the biblical passage, He sends a sign after Elijah’s seventh attempt. The prophet looks at the sky one final time and “sees a very small cloud rising from the sea.”
At that moment, “he understands that God’s answer is coming in abundance, in the form of torrential rain.”
This, Archbishop Gallagher stressed, “helps us understand that true and abundant graces can come only from God—like the peace for which we pray,” which is above all “a gift from God.”
We must never cease persevering or lose hope, he continued, because “the only thing God expects from us is faith, together with our righteous actions, repentance for our sins, and humble and trusting prayer.”
The next part of the homily was devoted to Our Lady. While Elijah prayed for his people in the reading, “today we have the Mother of God herself praying for us,” and it is to her that “we entrust our needs.”
The altar prepared for the celebration, with the icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The Mother of God’s intercession for us
Archbishop Gallagher stressed that the day’s prayer also included “a request for forgiveness for our lack of trust in God and in the Virgin’s power of intercession.”
Mary is an example of obedience to God, having followed faithfully, through her “yes,” “the path He prepared for her.” The question, particularly amid the difficulties of the present time, is whether we are prepared “to follow fully the example shown to us by the Mother of God.”
Mary’s gift to us as Mother is revealed in the passage from the Gospel of John, in which it is “Jesus Himself who entrusts us to her as our Mother.”
“This constitutes an immense gift and privilege for us, but also a duty on our part towards the Mother of God.” Only “the more aware we become of this gift” does her intercession for us become more effective.
The celebration at the Carmelite shrine was therefore also an opportunity to renew the commitment to entrust ourselves confidently to Mary.
The Evil One, the Archbishop continued, not only sows “hatred, division and death among people,” but also insinuates his temptations, pushing us “towards discouragement, despair and disappointment, especially when we feel abandoned and believe there is no one in the world capable of coming to our aid and protecting us.”
Archbishop Gallagher delivering his homily
Nothing must destroy our love, hope and trust in God
In the Second Reading, from the Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul speaks of “our dignity as children of God.” Because of this dignity, “we are not slaves to our physical infirmities or our poverty, regardless of the personal and collective causes that leave us without food, water, electricity or heating during the winter,” Archbishop Gallagher explained.
“No one can diminish our dignity in the eyes of God—not even the demon of war that attacks us.”
However, “only when we are truly aware that we are children of God and children of the Mother of God can no one plunge us into profound sorrow, even when we bitterly mourn our dead.”
Archbishop Gallagher offered these words of encouragement during his homily, together with an appeal not to allow “the tears of the present moment to destroy the trust, love and hope that God Himself has sown within us, precisely because no war and no death can diminish God’s love for us or the graces He has bestowed upon us.”
Pope Leo’s Envoy then concluded with an invocation to Our Lady of Berdychiv:
Mother of God, venerated in the icon of Berdychiv, and Mother of Hope, intercede for Ukraine; intercede for the Catholic Church and for all the Churches and faith communities in this country. Intercede for the state authorities, who face numerous challenges at this time. Intercede for those on the front lines; intercede for the dead and the wounded. Pray for all of us, so that through our faith and our works of justice and peace, our true dignity as children of God may shine forth. Intercede for us, poor sinners, so that the merciful God may grant the peace so greatly desired here in Ukraine and in so many other parts of the world!
Young people present flowers at the end of Mass
Gifts from young people: “The Pope’s closeness brings us joy”
During the prayers of the faithful, prayers were also offered that Christians might be protected from cultivating hatred in their hearts.
At the end of Mass, a group of young men and women presented Archbishop Gallagher with flowers and a wooden image of Our Lady of Berdychiv.
“It is a joy that the Pope is close to Ukraine and its people,” they said with emotion. “With you here, we feel that the Church is one united community.”
This was followed by addresses from the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Ukraine; the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Kyiv-Halych, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk; representatives of the local administration; and the Provincial of the Carmelites in Ukraine.
Finally, the icon of Our Lady was placed on its canopy and carried back inside the church, where Archbishop Gallagher, the bishops and the concelebrating priests remained in prayer for several more minutes.
Meetings on 20 July
In the afternoon, Archbishop Gallagher returned to Kyiv, where the Pope’s Envoy met representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations.
Tomorrow, 20 July, he is scheduled to hold high-level meetings with the political authorities, including acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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