Students, teachers, administrators and parents came together at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington the evening of April 6 to offer prayers for peace in Ukraine, an initiative that underlined the strength and unifying power of prayer, said those who attended.
Several weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, the second-largest country in Europe, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Some left for neighboring countries and others moved to safer areas inside Ukraine. Theexodus of more than 11 million people has separated families as the men stay behind to fight the Russian invaders. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been wounded or killed, the human cost of a conflict that resonates far beyond its borders.
Thousands of miles away from the war, family connections and friendships connect the old world to the new. At O’Connell, students and teachers felt called to act in the face of such intense human suffering and decided to organize the prayer vigil and rosary for peace in Ukraine.
“When you feel overwhelmed and powerless and your heart is breaking open with sorrow and shock and awe, prayer makes a difference,” said Joan Coolidge, a teacher and Christian service coordinator at O’Connell. Coolidge and social studies teacher Victoria Lewis were the vigil’s main organizers.
“We believe prayer makes a difference. We are a Catholic school, it’s (integral) to our mission,” Coolidge said. “So, it’s a tremendous thing to come together and pray. It’s humbling but it’s powerful and it gives us a place to come together because prayer also unifies.”
An estimated 150 people attended the event, along with local sisters from the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Joseph Vorbach, diocesan superintendent of schools, also was there and expressed his support for the initiative. “Everybody is kind of wondering, ‘What can we do?’ ” he said. The prayer vigil is a good reflection of our school communities, he added, noting that several schools around the diocese also organized service projects to try to be responsive to the needs of people in the Ukraine.
“When we feel helpless, we turn to prayer as something we can do as a community, and so I’m glad to be able to be here tonight,” he said. Vorbach was previously head of school at O’Connell.
Father Alexander Dumenko, pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Md., offered the opening prayer. In his Ukrainian accent, he asked that the suffering may be comforted, the wounded healed and the faithful departed saved. Father Dumenko ended with a plea to Mary. “We ask also that the most holy mother of God extend” her protection over Ukraine.
Students led the recitation of the rosary’s five Sorrowful Mysteries while candles were lit on the school’s gym floor, marking the visual progression of the age-old Catholic prayer. Some 50 students were involved in supporting the vigil, including choir and band members who performed.
Members of the Ukrainian community attended the vigil.
“As Ukrainian Americans, when the war broke out, we felt that we had to do something,” said Andrea Bilaniuk, the mother of an O’Connell student. She said she was moved by the event, which reflected the heart of the school community and prayer’s importance to it.
Her husband, Ivan Bilaniuk, delivered opening remarks and called for prayers for Ukrainians, as well as for Russians. “As Christians, we are taught to pray for our persecutors and this can sometimes be very difficult,” he said.
He asked people to pray for Russia and for the Russian people who are being deceived by state propaganda.
“There’s power in prayer,” he said, leading prayers for “those who continue to courageously defend our land,” for millions who have been displaced and for all those killed. “Finally, I ask that we pray for the continued courage and inspiring determination of the people of Ukraine who shine a light in the darkness.”
Senior Anna Chiappetta helped write the vigil’s rosary meditations. “When you pray and offer up to God, we’re taking our concern to him and let his will be done,” she said.
Chapman is a freelancer in Alexandria.
