Father George Elsbett, LC conducts his apostolic work at the John Paul II Center located in Vienna, Austria.
The Center’s mission is to promote the life of all Catholics who approach it through evangelization, social action, and formation apostolates.
In light of this dark time and the war conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the John Paul II Center has been organizing to help, partnering with the San Nepomuceno Parish in Susiec, specifically supporting four areas:
- Providing accommodation by hosting Ukrainian refugees, especially but not exclusively, mothers with their children.
- Donations in kind sent to communities in Ukraine, considering that many basic necessities are scarce due to the war.
- Financial donations through the San Nepomuceno Parish.
- Personal and community prayer for the mission and, above all, for the people in Ukraine.
If you want to learn more about the aid initiative and the four support areas, follow this link: https://zentrum-johannes-paul-ii.at/icare-ukraine/
Father George Elsbett, LC, shared with us his initial experience regarding the search for a place to host refugees fleeing the war conflict:
“For me, this was something very big because it showed me how God is present in this very dark time for the lives of many people. Here in Vienna, at the John Paul II Center, we just made an alliance with the parish on the Polish-Ukrainian border to help in the four areas. We spoke with the parish priest to present the project and when we could start. And he said to us: ‘Well, if you want, right now. I have four mothers here, one is pregnant and the other three have small children and I don’t know what to do…’. In half an hour, we found a place. For me, this was a miracle. I know very well that it won’t always be like this, that we won’t always find places immediately to host refugees. Maybe many of you who are far away don’t feel this as much, but for us here, it’s affecting us deeply. This is not a time to stand idly by. Today is the time to show the world that we have a God who is love and who does not accept hatred, war, or revenge. Now is the time to show it.”
