‘Mercy Into Action’

June 1, 2022

Cardinal Dolan visits Mercy Centers and commends the Order’s refugee efforts in partnership with CNEWA

By Columbia staff

June 1, 2022

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, celebrates Mass May 2 at the Order's Mercy Center in Hrebenne, Poland, near the Ukraine border, and visits with families at the St. Klemens Hofbauer Parish Mercy Center in Warsaw later that day. (Photo by Sebastian Nycz)

In early May, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, traveled to Poland, where he met with Ukrainian refugees as well as Knights who are serving them. The cardinal visited Knights of Columbus Mercy Centers at the border and in Warsaw, and he praised the Order’s humanitarian efforts in response to the war in Ukraine.

“To see the Knights of Columbus so radiantly active here doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “They are putting the corporal and spiritual works of mercy into action.”

Cardinal Dolan led a delegation from the archdiocese and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association on the five-day trip, which also included stops in Slovakia and Ukraine.

On May 2, Cardinal Dolan celebrated Mass at the Mercy Center in Hrebenne, Poland — at the Ukrainian border — and visited the Mercy Center at St. Klemens Hofbauer Parish in Warsaw later that day. The centers are operated in partnership with CNEWA, of which Cardinal Dolan is chairman.

“The cardinal’s visit is symbolic for us — it shows that the Knights of Columbus and Catholic organizations from around the world are joining in helping refugees,” said Poland State Deputy Krzysztof Zuba.

The Knights established the Mercy Center in Hrebenne almost immediately after the invasion of Ukraine. Knights from St. Wojciech Patron of Poland Council 15267 in Tomaszów Lubelski constructed a tent to serve the women and children flooding over the border, and operations expanded in mid-March with support from the Ukraine Solidarity Fund^®.

In early April, the Knights of Columbus also opened several parish-based Mercy Centers, which are helping refugees settle and integrate into Polish communities. These centers offer a space for refugees to socialize and learn, in addition to receiving material aid. To date, the Order is supporting Mercy Centers at parishes in Warsaw, Radom and Częstochowa.

After his visit to the Mercy Center in Warsaw, which included a barbecue picnic with refugees and other parishioners, Cardinal Dolan said, “Wherever there are the Knights of Columbus, there is faith, family, charity. And now you see their outreach to the Ukrainian refugees — they are not just people in need; they are God’s children. That’s the wisdom of Blessed Michael McGivney, and that’s the charism of our Knights of Columbus.”

Marcin Wojciechowski, grand knight of Council 15267, said that Cardinal Dolan’s visit was a welcome affirmation of the Knights’ ongoing work: “We are doing what the Knights of Columbus do around the world: giving mercy to those who need mercy.”

Archbishop William Lori blesses survivors of human trafficking.

‘Mercy Into Action’

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