Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovsky | |
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| Martyr | |
| Born | (1903-06-01)June 1, 1903 Stanislaviv,Austria-Hungary (nowIvano-Frankivsk,Ukraine) |
| Died | June 30, 1973(1973-06-30) (aged 70) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 27 June 2001, Lviv Hippodrome, Ukraine byPope John Paul II |
| Majorshrine | St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church,Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Feast | 27 June, withNicholas Charnetsky and 24 Companions |
Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovsky, CSsR (Ukrainian:Василь Володимирович Величковський; June 1, 1903 – June 30, 1973) was a Ukrainian religious priest of theRedemptorists and a prelate of theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church. He is considered amartyr in theCatholic Church, due to his death in 1973 of injuries sustained while imprisoned by theSoviet Union for his faith. He wasbeatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Velychkovsky was born inStanislaviv, in then-Austria-Hungary. In 1920, he entered the seminary inLviv, then in Poland. In 1925, he took his first religious vows in the village of Holosko near Lviv in theCongregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (better known as the Redemptorists) and wasordained apriest. As a priest-monk Vasyl Velychkovsky taught and preached inVolyn, a Ukrainian-majority province in interwar Poland. In 1942, he becameabbot of the monastery in German-occupiedTernopil. Because ofreligious persecution by theCommunist Soviet Union he was arrested in 1945 by theNKVD and sent toKiev. Thepunishment of death was commuted to 10 years ofhard labor.[1][2]
On release in 1955, he went back to Lviv, and was ordained a bishop in 1963. In 1969, he was imprisoned again for three years for his religious activities.[1] Released in 1972, he wasexiled outside the USSR. He died of his injuries from prison inWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on June 30, 1973, aged 70.[3]
Thirty years after his death, Vasyl Velychkovsky's body was found to be almostincorrupt (his toes had fallen off and the relics were subsequently divided).[3] The body relic of Vasyl Velychkovsky is enshrined atSt. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Today, his shrine is located at 250 Jefferson Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba.[4]
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