Poland, the land of St. John Paul II has been one of the main host countries for refugees from Ukraine, a nation currently in conflict with Russia. Families, young people and even foreigners who manage to leave Ukrainian territory find refuge, hope and peace in Polish cities. To help with the welcoming, the missionaries of the Shalom Catholic Community in Krakow have made themselves available to all those who need help at this difficult time. Even the members of the Community living in Krakow share their own home with the refugees.
Ukrainian refugees in Krakow
Danielle Correia, a missionary from the Life Community and local responsible of the Shalom mission in Krakow, says that the movement of refugees took place almost at the same time as the missionaries were moving from their community home. The space, which used to be a workplace, became a welcoming home. 56 people began to receive home care. Children, the elderly and even entire families began to live in practically the same place as the missionaries. Danielle explains that the space is divided by a kind of corridor in which on one side is the community house and on the other the environment of reception of the brothers and sisters that are now refugees from Ukraine.
“Our house is theirs and their house is ours. We share with them everything we receive as a donation. We are with them and they are with us. ” Our greatest joy to be part of this dynamic is to share this house with them, ”she says.
Danielle also says that one family particularly came closer to the missionaries of the Community. This family was formed by the mother, grandmother and children. In the reception space, the orientation was that they stay a month until they could organize to move on. However, this family, who was preparing to travel to England, had problems with the documents. So that they would not be left without room to spend the next few days, the missionaries welcomed everyone into the community house, across the hall.
Children have been the motivation for their mothers
On the experience that the missionaries have had in relation to this welcoming dynamic, Danielle shares that everything has happened in a very simple way, for example, the smile of a child who also makes his mother smile. “Children give meaning to their mothers who were left without their husbands,” she says. And young people have also sought to start over. An example of this is a girl who had to leave her piano in Ukraine, but when she found the keyboard in the community house, she started playing again. “This young girl had a new chance to find meaning by being in this place, being grateful and doing what she likes,” she says.
For Danielle, evangelization, at this time, has been like sowing seeds of joy and hope with her own life and by being witness of God’s love. In fact, even moving house at that time made sense thanks to every refugee brothers who has been welcomed by the missionaries. “We understand why God’s Providence has brought us here. We are discovering this plan of our Lord in a simple way, ”she shares. In fact, it is in the simple act and spontaneity of this gesture that everything happens. The refugees themselves want to collaborate in this new stage of their lives, as in the case of some women who were taken into the house, who prepare typical Ukrainian food. It is a beautiful movement of encounter and exchange!
