On Monday, July 11, 2022, the visit of solidarity with Ukraine by the delegation of the Austrian episcopate began with a meeting with the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, gathered at the Synod in Przemyśl. The delegation headed by the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of Austria His Holiness Franz Lackner also includes Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, Ordinary of Graz, and Fr. Yuriy Kolasa, Vicar General of the Ordinariate for Eastern Rite Catholics in Austria.
The program of his stay in Lviv, which begins on Tuesday, July 12, includes a meeting with Catholic hierarchs, representatives of the Orthodox Church, the head of the Lviv regional administration, and the mayor of Lviv. The Austrian bishops will also take part in the Divine Liturgy in the Garrison Temple and visit the church’s aid centers for war victims, Vatican News reports.
The Austrian bishops announced this trip during their plenary meeting in Mariazell. In a statement released on June 22, the hierarchs called on the faithful to continue to provide assistance and show solidarity with those suffering from the fallout of the war in Ukraine and with refugees. They assured the Ukrainians that “we, bishops, together with many residents of Austria, suffer with you, carry you in our hearts, pray for you, and stand by your side.”
