Local collection for Ukraine war victims totals nearly $174,000

Parishioners in the Diocese of St. Cloud contributed $173,895 as of March 24 to a special collection to assist the victims of war in Ukraine. A small portion of the proceeds also will aid other needs of the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.

The final total will be higher because funds were still arriving from some parishes, said Father Robert Rolfes, vicar general of the diocese.

“I was surprised and most grateful at the level of the contributions,” Bishop Donald Kettler said. “It’s a strong sign of the concern that people have for Ukraine, which we also saw in the strong attendance at St. Mary’s Cathedral [March 25] for the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to Mary.”

The collection was taken up on the weekend of March 12-13. Funds are being sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which will direct their distribution to relief agencies working in the field.

Photo: A volunteer hands a bowl of soup to a woman fleeing the Russian war in Ukraine at Berlin’s central station March 9, 2022. (CNS photo/Annegret Hilse, Reuters)

Author: The Central Minnesota Catholic

The Central Minnesota Catholic is the magazine for the Diocese of St. Cloud.

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