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10 “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 2011 WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH AND “ OUR LIFE ” During the month of March, we celebrate Women’s History Month. The “we” here is a little amorphous, but it applies to women living in this country and that includes women in the Ukrainian diaspora, members of the UNWLA, and others who might be reading this magazine. This month’s issue of the magazine has a number of articles dealing with the history of women — the column penned by UNWLA President Marianna Zajac, for example, provides wonderful information about the women who created, nurtured, and supported o ur organization and its goals over the decades, gathering triennially to share their success, their concerns, and their future hopes and plans. There is, as well, an invitation and a convention program schedule, provided by the current convention committee , both of which relate to our theme as they are harbingers of a new chapter in the history of the UNWLA and of the women who belong to the organization. The issue includes an article about Lesia Ukrainka (this year, we commemorate the 140 th anniversary of her birth), a bilingual write - up about poet and patriot Ladia Mohyliansla (the patroness of UNWLA Branch 124), and a book review on a book recently published by Professor Valentyna K. Borysenko — the second volume of Ukrainian Women in History (which, by th e way, happens to include bios of diaspora women). Our issue also includes two obituaries — personal histories of women who were active in the UNWLA . . . history entwined with history. And in this month’s issue we also salute a group of women who came to th is country a hundred years ago to minister to a young immigrant community, established schools many of us attended, and touched the lives of countless Ukrainian American men and women in countless ways. We share their story below and congratulate them on t heir many achievements. CENTENNIAL In 1907, a young Basilian priest in Ukraine was appointed by the Holy See to serve as Bishop for all Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in the United States of America. Headquartered in Philadelphia, he would be ministering to a flock of Ukrainian immigrants that had left their homeland to pursue better lives in the new world. In Philadelphia, Bishop Ortynsky found churches in sad need of repair and reorganization and a flock of illiterate and desperately poor parishioners, including scores of orphans. Knowin g that the tasks before him were too great to tackle alone, the bishop prayed for guidance, help, and solutions. God provided the guidance, and Ukraine’s Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky arranged for the transfer of a group of Basilian nuns from the Yavoriv monastery in Ukraine to America. On November 28, 1911, four Sisters of St. Basil the Great, led by Mother Helena Langevych, OSBM, arrived in the United States of America. Times were lean, and the immigrant com - munity was poor, and Bishop Soter and Mother Helena spent countless hours soliciting funds and helping the other S isters cope with the hardships and deprivation. They set up a carpet weaving business and a printing press, and the S isters tended to the needs of the orphans while learning to operate th e unfamiliar machinery. There were days when only the indomitable spirit of Mother Helena held everything together. But while she was ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of her S isters and the orphans, she was neglecting her own physical health and contracted tuberculosis. She died on May 17, 1916, leaving the small community of immi - grants, orphans, and S isters bereft and rudderless. In the early 1920s, under the direction of Metropolitan Constantine Bohachevsky and Mother Josaphat, the S isters embarked on a mission that was to culminate in a Ukrainian Catholic Parochial School System. New postulants entered the com - munity, many from the immigrant families that the sisters from Ukraine had come to serve. In 1926, recognizing that the community n eeded room to grow, Mother Josaphat bought a piece of property in Fox Chase — 130 acres of land and a farm cottage, which was to serve the S isters as a motherhouse. In 1930, the S isters laid the cornerstone for the new Motherhouse in Fox Chase and began to b uild upon traditions begun centuries ago, focusing on teaching and ministering to the spiritual needs of the com - Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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