On May 16, the St. Gabriel Institute will host a gala evening at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., dedicated to supporting the institute’s mission and culminating in a six-month program to train a new generation of leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The event will bring together guests from the Ukrainian church, academic, and civic communities.
This was reported by Saint Gabriel Institute.
The program is comprised of 12 fellows from around the world, including Kyiv, Toronto, Munich, Lviv, Kolomyia, and Krakow. They spent six months training in Washington as church diplomats, communicators, and leaders.
Organizers say the program is designed to shape a new generation of Church leaders who “will be able to represent the Church with clarity, integrity, and courage—especially in times that require all three.”
The event will feature speeches by Archbishop of the Philadelphia Archdiocese of the UGCC, President of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, and Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Brian Bayda. Organizers also announced another special guest, whose name will be announced later.
The event program will include a joint dinner and a charity auction prepared by the institute participants. Organizers note that this will be an opportunity to support the institute’s mission and join in an evening of community and reflection.
The event will take place on May 16 and will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a cocktail reception, and the dinner will start at 6:15 p.m. A formal dress code is required for guests, with embroidered shirts encouraged. For details, see link.
Background
The St. Gabriel Institute was initiated as an initiative of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It was founded by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Department of External Church Relations of the UGCC.
The institute’s program focuses on forming future leaders of the Ukrainian Catholic Church through a combination of faith, service, and academic training. In Washington, participants study in the areas of church communication, diplomacy, and Catholic social teaching.
Photo: Saint Gabriel Institute
Author: Danylo Pievchev