HERU

In the last day alone, 90 ground and 10 missile attacks were carried out against Ukrainian army positions in towns and villages, he said.

According to the archbishop, approximately 700 medical centers, clinics, and hospitals were attacked by the Russians in the past year, while an estimated 500 churches, chapels, mosques, and synagogues were destroyed, and thousands of people lost their lives.

To mark the sad anniversary of Feb. 24, the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has declared a special day of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

The Church also organized a 12-hour prayer marathon on Friday, which began at noon local time in Kyiv.

“We feel that when we join together in prayer, fasting, and good deeds, we win. We so much need spiritual strength to bring our victory closer,” Shevchuk said.

The prayer marathon began in Kyiv at the Patriarchal Cathedral. It then passed on to the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia, Odessa, Kherson, and Irpin before moving: Melbourne, Australia, will then pick up the prayer chain, followed by Przemyśl, Poland, and Rome, Italy.

Winnipeg, Canada will be the first stop in North America, followed by Philadelphia. The prayer marathon will conclude in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“Our whole Church, both in Ukraine and in the settlements, will stand before the face of God in a prayer vigil,” Shevchuk said.

The prayer will be, he added, a time of “unity and solidarity of Ukrainians around the world.”

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency’s senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.