St. Basil's Ukrainian Catholic Parish

04/05/2026

04/02/2026

Holy Week Easter Services

03/29/2026

Palm Sunday - P***y Willow

On Saturday evening, on the eve of the feast day of the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem, our Ukrainian Catholic churches are transfigured. Church members, gathering in multitudes for the service, bring with them flowers and branches of p***y willows, or parishes are providing for their parishioners p***y willows. On that day the church begins to resemble a blossoming meadow. When did this beautiful ritual begin and what is its spiritual meaning? The Lord Jesus Christ entered the Holy City several days before His suffering and death. Here He concluded His three-year service as the Messiah. The Hebrew nation, chosen by God in the Old Testament, had to receive evidence from Christ Himself about His Godly Merit. The Lord enters Jerusalem, accompanied by multitude of people. The people, feeling the greatness of the event, from the excess of their hearts, called to Christ: “Hosanna!” (which means “blessed”) and spread His path with green palm branches. Kings and great conquerors have been met with such festiveness since ancient times, and now, in the placing of the branches, the thousand - year hope of the Jews was expressed about the coming of the earthly King who will restore the throne of David.

The people could not comprehend that Christ’s Kingdom was not of this world. Since then over two thousand years have passed. But every year we, like the people of that time, come to meet Christ in church with p***y willows. There are no palm trees in Ukraine, and other trees do not leaf so early due to the harshness of the climate, only p***y willows reveal their tender catkins. The p***y willow - is a sign of spring, characteristic of this time of year’s spiritual rebirth. It harbors leaves in itself, but does not yet put them out, and thus gives us to understand that our joy from the feast of the Lord’s Entrance is not complete, but conceals in itself the beginnings of the great joy of Pascha. The blessing of the p***y willows occurs during the festal service. At the end of Divine Liturgy the priests censes the p***y willows with sweet- smelling incense, reads the prayer and blesses the branches with holy water. We bring the blessed p***y willows home, where we keep them reverently, as a sign of the penetrating grace of God, until the next year. Then the branches are burned, replaced by new ones, or stuffed into a pillow, which is laid under the head of a deceased Christian in their coffin. The Feast of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem is a sort of threshold which divides the forty day of Great Lent from the Passion Week, fortifying us before the terrible days of Christ’s Passion.

Let us bring live flowers and p***y willows to the festive church service, so that we may hear the joyous words: “These P***y willows are blessed by the sprinkling of this holy water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The faithful will also receive a special blessing through the anointing of one’s forehead with Holy Oil. The priest will greet you with either, “Христос посеред нас!” or “Christ is Among Us!”, to which one responds: “Є і будe!” or “He is and will be!”

03/22/2026

We are once again offering Easter Food.

03/12/2026

⛺ Camp St. Basil – Registration & Counselor Opportunities

Registration for Camp St. Basil will open on April 16. Please keep an eye on the parish bulletin for the QR code and website link, which will be available as soon as registration goes live.

We are also looking for camp counselors (ages 18–35) to help lead and support our campers during the summer. Serving as a counselor is a wonderful opportunity to share your faith ✝️, build community 🤝, and support our youth. A small honorarium will be provided for those serving in this role.

If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]
For more details, please continue to watch the parish bulletin.

⸻

⛺ Табір Святого Василія – Реєстрація та Потреба у Виховниках

Реєстрація до Табору Святого Василія (Camp St. Basil) відкриється 16 квітня. Просимо стежити за парафіяльним бюлетенем, де буде розміщено QR-код та посилання на вебсайт для реєстрації, щойно вона стане доступною.

Також шукаємо виховників табору віком 18–35 років, які бажають допомогти в організації літнього табору та підтримати наших дітей і молодь. Служіння виховника — це чудова нагода поділитися своєю вірою ✝️, будувати християнську спільноту 🤝 та послужити нашій молоді. Для виховників передбачена невелика грошова винагорода.

Якщо у вас є запитання, будь ласка, пишіть на електронну пошту: [email protected]
Просимо також стежити за подальшими оголошеннями у парафіяльному бюлетені.

02/24/2026

Camp St. Basil - registration opens mid April!!

01/19/2026

12/22/2025

Дорогі брати і сестри!

При нашому храмі діє церковна крамниця "Св.Архангел Гавриїл", де ви можете придбати все необхідне для молитви та духовного життя.
Крамниця відкрита щонеділі після кожної Святої Літургії о 9:00, 11:00 та 19:00.

Завітайте - будемо раді кожному!
Приєднуйтеся до нас у Telegram (українська група) за посиланням:
https://t.me/churchshopStBasiltheGreat

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our church has opened the St. Archangel Gabriel shop where you can find everything you need for prayer and your spiritual life.

The shop is open every Sunday after each Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m.

We warmly invite you to stop by — we will be glad to welcome everyone! The link below will show you what we have for sale.

Join our Ukrainian-language Telegram group at the following link:

You can view and join right away.

10/16/2025

Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky – Ukrainian Martyr and Witness of Faith

Our parish is deeply privileged to announce that we will host the holy relic of Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky, C.Ss.R. — one of the martyrs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

This special occasion will take place on Sunday, October 19, at 7:00 p.m. during the Divine Liturgy, with Fr. John Sianchuk, C.Ss.R., as our guest homilist.

All parishioners and friends are warmly invited to come, pray, and venerate this blessed martyr who gave his life for Christ and His Church. May this grace-filled evening deepen our own faith, courage, and love for God.

On June 27, 2001, Pope St. John Paul II beatified a group of modern martyrs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, among whom were four heroic Redemptorists: Bishop Mykolay (Nicholas) Charnetsky, Bishop Vasyl (Basil) Velychkovsky, Fr. Ivan Ziatyk, and Fr. Zynoviy (Zenon) Kovalyk. These men endured tremendous suffering, imprisonment, and torture during the dark years of Soviet persecution, yet they never denied Christ or abandoned their people. Their unwavering faith and love for the Church remain a shining example for us today.

Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky (1903–1973) was born in Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk) to a devout priestly family. From a young age, he desired to dedicate his life entirely to God. After entering the Redemptorist Fathers, he became known as a fearless missionary, preaching throughout Ukraine and beyond. When the Soviet regime outlawed the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Fr. Vasyl refused to renounce his faith, declaring “Never!” when offered freedom in exchange for joining the Orthodox Church. He was imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to death—later commuted to ten years in the harsh labour camps of Siberia. Even there, he secretly celebrated the Divine Liturgy using tin cans as sacred vessels, teaching and comforting fellow prisoners.

Upon his release, Fr. Vasyl continued to serve the underground Church as a bishop, celebrating the sacraments and strengthening the faithful in secret. Arrested again in 1969, he spent three more years in Soviet prisons, suffering severe health damage. Released and forced into exile, he met Pope Paul VI in Rome and later came to Canada, where he died on June 30, 1973, still bearing the hidden wounds of his suffering. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 as a Blessed Martyr for the Faith.

Let us gather in faith and gratitude to venerate this holy martyr. Through his prayers and witness, may we find courage to live our faith boldly, forgive generously, and remain faithful to Christ even amidst challenges.
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10).