Notre Dame President Emeritus Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., visits key sites in Lviv, Ukraine
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, recently visited the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and key sites in Lviv, Ukraine, as a sign of Notre Dame’s continued support for the university and its students.
It was his first international trip on behalf of Notre Dame since stepping down from the presidency at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Notre Dame has significantly expanded its support and partnership with UCU. The University’s Standing in Solidarity initiative has brought dozens of students, faculty and staff from UCU to the Notre Dame campus and has supported collaborative research projects between UCU and Notre Dame faculty.
“Notre Dame has for many years, through its Nanovic Institute for European Studies, hosted visiting scholars from UCU on campus, and in turn our scholars have spent time there,” Father Jenkins said. “Now, as the Ukrainians resist the Russian invasion of their country, the role of UCU is critical to fostering Ukrainian identity through scholarship and educating the generation who will be tasked with rebuilding their war-ravaged nation and creating a new future for the people of Ukraine.”
Father Jenkins was accompanied on the trip by UCU Senator and former Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine Larysa Galadza, whose mother, Iryna Galadza, was also awarded an honorary degree. They began by visiting the Field of Honor in Lviv, a cemetery where Ukrainian soldiers who have died during the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine are buried.
“Coming to this place, you’re able to see the human cost of the war,” Father Jenkins said, “the brothers, the sons, the husbands who have lost their lives. And it’s represented here powerfully in these beautiful tributes and these flowers and flags. I hope we can find a just peace, a peace that allows Ukraine to be free.”
The delegation also toured the Garrison Church of Saints Peter and Paul and visited Superhumans, a Ukrainian center for prosthetics, reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation and psychological support for adults and children affected by the war. While there, Father Jenkins spoke with soldiers undergoing rehabilitation and offered his prayers and blessings.
“The notion of solidarity means we’re all connected in an important way, and the struggles, the injustices of the people of Ukraine are our problem and something we should be concerned about as well. It’s not just another part of the world — these are human beings that are part of the human family,” he said. “It’s a reminder that we’re all interconnected, and we must always remember that and never tire of working for justice and working for peace around the world.”
Sadly, a day after Father Jenkins departed, a Russian bomb took the lives of UCU student Daria Bazylevych and three members of her family. “We must continue to pray for those at UCU and all of Ukraine,” Father Jenkins said.
Latest ND NewsWire
- Kroc Institute releases third report on Colombian Peace Agreement implementation of ethnic approachColombia is at the halfway point with the implementation of its 2016 peace accord, and data indicate there are serious challenges to achieving goals established to guarantee the rights of ethnic communities in the peace process, according to a new report from the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs.
- Is depolarization possible?Notre Dame political scientist studies cross-partisan chat discussions Erin Rossiter is willing to stick her hand in the sizzling-hot fire of political discussions in a deeply polarized America. The Notre Dame political…
- de Nicola Center presents 24th annual Fall Conference, ‘Ever Ancient, Ever New: On Catholic Imagination’More than 1,200 scholars, students and guests from around the world will attend the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture’s 24th annual Fall Conference, “Ever Ancient, Ever New: On Catholic Imagination.” The conference features more than 175 papers, panels and performances across three days of conversation on the enduring and inexhaustible nature of the Catholic imagination.
- High color complexity in social media images proves more eye-catching, increases user engagementComplex images in a social media post tend to capture greater user attention, leading to increased engagement with social media posts, according to new research from Vamsi Kanuri, the Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Marketing at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
- Arun Agrawal to lead Notre Dame’s new University-wide sustainability initiativeArun Agrawal, a renowned scholar of environmental politics and sustainable development, will join the University of Notre Dame on Jan. 1, 2025, as the inaugural director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative, a key priority in the University’s strategic framework.
- Theologian Gary Anderson awarded 2024 Barry Prize; Paolo Carozza, Richard Garnett and Christian Smith also honoredGary A. Anderson, the Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Thought at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded a 2024 Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters. The academy conferred the prize Wednesday (Oct. 23) in a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
