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His name is Rostyslav Klish and, at 28 years old, he has become a reference for Ukrainians living in Castile and León.
It was before the war, in 2017, when they sent him and another classmate to study in Madrid to become a priest for Ukrainians living in Spain.
“It was not my decision, but it was my decision because it was the mission that the Church gave us”he explains in statements to EL ESPAÑOL- Noticias de Castilla y León.
The beginnings on the path of Faith did not come when he was little, but rather the vocation awakened to him later. His family had always been Christian, and he fondly remembers the “special prayers we said.”
In addition, he met a young priest who attended his parish and who to a large extent encouraged him because for him it was “an example to see how he treated people, spoke to neighbors and celebrated mass; an inspiration. ”
However, the path he took at the beginning was not that since I decided to focus on cooking do professional training. A career that lasted very little when he realized that it wasn’t his thing.
It was at that time that he entered the seminary and there he felt “the vocation”. “The Lord is a very great love and I want to share it with other people”he assures.
The Ukrainian priest who travels from León to Valladolid to celebrate mass
Currently he lives in León, but it was last year – around Christmas – that he was asked if he could go to Valladolid to say mass. And, during celebrations or special events, many travel “in search of their church.”
Klish accepted the challenge because “he didn’t have much to do” and since then they also celebrate every Sunday and important holidays in this city. It belongs to the Greek-Catholic Church and has “its own rite”.
A large part of the mass, with the exception of the homily, is sung and incense is one of the main protagonists of the rite. Another of the moments that attracts the most attention is that the priest usually has his back turned and has the presence of icons.
In fact, last week two icons arrived; a Christ and a Virgin Mary. “It helps people preserve Ukrainian traditions. They feel like they have something here, as a community, like the place they went to”he explains.
During masses and meetings with citizens, they address different subjects even if, logically, the war in Ukraine is very present. “Everyone can’t wait to come back. Both those who have been there for 20 years and those who came because of the war,” he says.
This is why in all personal conversations, the subject comes up because it is “what hurts people”. Although he claims that the masses are good for them because they allow them to “make sense of a lot of things” since it is inevitable that “slowdowns appear”.
In a way, this union they created in León and Valladolid allows them to continue helping the Ukrainians who remain on the front lines of the war, given that the vast majority have family and friends there.
During Sunday collections, they collect money and put it toward a product that someone told them they need so they can send it to them. A way to contribute from afar.
“We pray for peace, for victory, for the families and for the victims. We try to help as much as we can,” explains the priest.
Every Sunday, they bring together nearly 60 faithful to celebrate the Eucharist according to the Byzantine rite in the Chapel of the Congregation, next to the Basilica-National Sanctuary of the Great Promise.
The priest encourages all those who wish to attend these masses to be able to enjoy them, as well as their traditions and the big family they have formed.
