Two Reporting & Benefit Soirées raised $269,007 for new priests and personnel. Anonymous benefactors are matching $250,000 for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia raised $269,007 at its 2026 Reporting & Benefit Soirées, passing the $250,000 goal set for the New Priest and Personnel Initiative. The gifts came from parish communities, supporters, and friends of the Church. Anonymous benefactors committed to match every dollar raised, up to $250,000, and the matching funds will go to the Healing of Wounds of the War in Ukraine Fund. Together, the funds raised and the matching gift come to $519,007
The soirées took place on October 3 at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey in Whippany and on October 17 at Cathedral Hall in Philadelphia, under the theme “Growing the Good News.” For the fourth time, the Archeparchy gathered parishioners, friends and benefactors to report on the past year’s ministry. Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak presented the year’s developments, and guests received a copy of the Annual Report as they left.
This spring, 138 clergy, religious and lay people gathered for the Archeparchy’s strategic session on evangelization, and two words came out of it: evangelization and co-responsibility. Metropolitan Borys explained the second: “The Church is not something ‘they’ do; it is something we do together.” The soirées put co-responsibility into practice. Parishes from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., came to the evenings as groups, and many sent gifts. This year the Archeparchy set a single goal for both evenings, and the parishes gathered in Whippany and in Philadelphia worked toward it together.
“The Archeparchy holds that it must earn its supporters’ trust before asking for their help, and that this trust begins with honesty, openness and transparency,” stressed Sofia Zacharczuk, chief of staff to the Metropolitan who together with the chancery team organized the events.
All proceeds from the two evenings support the New Priest and Personnel Initiative, which funds the formation and support of priests and lay leaders. Of the Archeparchy’s 50 priests in active ministry, 36 were born in Ukraine and 14 in the United States, and bringing a priest from Ukraine involves relocation, immigration and visa costs in addition to formation. “Buildings need maintenance and programs need budgets, but ministry requires human beings: a parish needs a priest, a young person needs someone to accompany them, and a new immigrant needs someone to welcome them,” noted Metropolitan Borys.
The Archeparchy is especially grateful to the three anonymous benefactors behind the matching gift. In 2024 and 2025, an anonymous benefactor matched $100,000 raised at the Philadelphia evening. This year the commitment grew to $250,000 and applied to both evenings with two additional donors, so that each dollar given by parishes and friends of the Archeparchy, up to that amount, supports the Church in the United States and also reaches people suffering from the war. The Healing of Wounds of the War in Ukraine Fund supports rehabilitation programs, emergency food, military chaplains and summer camps for children. Metropolitan Borys stressed: “Your gift works twice. You help the Church here grow, and that same generosity brings help to people in Ukraine.”
Both evenings featured a silent auction of Ukrainian sacred art, which raised $14,150 in total. The collection included works from ICONART Gallery in Lviv and from "Radruzh" Iconography School of Ukrainian Catholic University, and works by the late Christina Dochwat, who created the iconostasis and mosaics of the Philadelphia cathedral. Other Ukrainian American artists were represented as well, among them Philadelphia-born iconographer Andrij Maday and contemporary artist Christina Saj. Among the Philadelphia lots was a glass icon of the Mother of God painted by a 14-year-old girl from Ternopil who took part in a summer camp supported by the Fund, one of 17 camps it supported this year.
The Archeparchy thanks its Silver Sponsors, The Philadelphia Trust Company and the Ukrainian National Association, Inc.; its Bronze Sponsors, Selfreliance Federal Credit Union, Self Reliance Financial Federal Credit Union and Byzantine Church Supplies; and every parish, donor, artist, volunteer and partner who made the evenings possible.
About the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, led by Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, has 62 parishes and two missions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It is the metropolitan see of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolia of Philadelphia, which includes four eparchies in the United States.
About the Healing of Wounds of the War in Ukraine Fund
The Fund was established in January 2022 by the four Ukrainian Catholic eparchies in the United States. Since its inception the fund has sent $12.1 million to Ukraine supporting more than 300 projects. For questions regarding the Fund please contact healingwoundsfund@ukrcatholic.org
Media contact
Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia | 810 North Franklin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123 | 215-627-0143 | ukrmet@ukrcatholic.org
