In Grodek near Lviv, situated in western Ukraine, the community of Pallottine Missionary Sisters consists of two Polish missionaries: Sr. Anna Karpinska and Sr. Karolina Slominska. Until Poland’s borders were shifted in 1945, the town was called Grodek of Jagiello, because the Polish king Ladislas Jagiello, who had previously granted it town rights, died here in 1434. At present, it has several thousand inhabitants and one Catholic parish dedicated to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Last year the parish celebrated its 650 years. The sisters live in the house belonging to the parish and are involved in the parish life.
Sr. Anna takes care of the church, its decorations, arranging flowers and preparation for masses. She also has the sacristy under her care. She is willingly helped by parishioners. The cooperation with the parish priest is very good. The parish community has now only 120 people who know each other well. It was larger, but some families with small children left for Poland and some men were killed. A wave of people fleeing Ukraine in the first phase of the war was passing through Grodek, which is just over 50 km from the Polish border, and the sisters gave many of them a temporary shelter.
Sr. Karolina is an experienced catechist and she gives catechesis to children who come to the Sisters. There are several of them of various ages and they like to come for the classes which are conducted in an interesting way with the use of various aids, which Sr. Karolina makes by herself. At church, she meets the children for Mass, rosary and other devotions as well as for preparation for the sacraments. The older boys serve at Mass as altar boys.
There is also a Polish Language School at the Sisters’ community, where Sr. Karolina is a teacher. She teaches the students individually due to their varying levels of language proficiency. This is why the bell often rings in the sisters’ house – a new student has arrived and the lesson is over for the previous one. Together the students visit senior parishioners, the disabled and the poor. They prepare Christmas gifts for them and invite them for performances which bring them a lot of joy. Sr. Karolina has also a flair for literature and has already published three books of children’s stories. 
She often uses them in catechesis, as most of them are fairy tales with a moral. The last one titled “Fairy Tales for You” was published a few months ago. She often takes the children on outings to places where they can relax, play, learn something new and forget about the difficult experiences connected with war. This is very important, as the trauma caused by living in constant danger – at night, sirens can still be heard – requires a long treatment.
The Sisters are in contact with many people, not only from the parish, who come to share with them the news of the loss of their loved ones, of a son being brought home maimed or with a disfigured face. Accompanying them in their pain and sufferings, bringing comfort and often concrete help to those in need, is also a very important part of the sisters’ ministry. They are well-loved by the local community and many people stop them on their way to the church to greet them or share the latest news with them. “These are our sisters”, they say with pride.
Sr. Malgorzata Wyrodek, SAC
Photos were taken by: Sr. Karolina Slominska, Piotr Migulka
