VATICAN CITY -- The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not just a tragic conflict between two nations, but the centre of a spiritual battle wrought by the forces of evil that have pitted brother against brother, said the apostolic nuncio to Ukraine.

Church bells rang out across Calgary at noon March 18 to show solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine who have been suffering through the brutal Russian military invasion of their country.

The Way of the Cross can be and has been explained in many ways, but before the theorizing, theologizing and prayers there is fear and there is pain.

VATICAN CITY -- Continuing the mission entrusted to him by Pope Francis, Cardinal Michael Czerny visited Slovakia and a Ukrainian border town to convey the pope's closeness to victims of Russia's war against Ukraine.

To meet the anticipated needs of the expected influx of refugee children fleeing Ukraine, the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s Angel Foundation, Loretto Fund plans to increase its annual budget from $5,000 to $50,000.

Ukraine’s Catholic and Orthodox churches are united in common cause for the most part and standing in solidarity with victims of Russia’s attack on their country, says Canada’s former Ambassador for International Religious Freedom.

As Ukrainians turn to their faith amid the ongoing tragedy of Russia’s invasion of their nation, many who follow both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions will look to an unusual icon of Mary as a symbol of the solace they seek.

A close friend of mine had a friend who was dying of cancer. When this man got his diagnosis his wife left him. She had never envisioned a life in which she would have to care for a dying husband. I have no idea whether she was incredibly shallow or had some severe phobia about disease and death.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica March 25, the Vatican said.

LVIV, Ukraine-- "I've come with the three most sophisticated Gospel weapons: prayer, fasting and alms," Cardinal Konrad Krajewski told reporters in Western Ukraine March 10 as he prepared to head toward Kyiv and other cities under Russian bombardment.

Ivanka Galadza is not the sort of person who ever expected to go to war, nor would any of her Ottawa neighbours pick the slight young woman out as a warrior. But with a pen and a sheet of paper, Galadza can concentrate the strength she inherited from priests and poets who resisted the Soviet empire.

Two weeks into the war in Ukraine, Lily Hordienko, principal at St. Demetrius Catholic School in Etobicoke, received a phone call from a parent letting her know that their son would not be in school that day. The family, the mother told Hordienko, hadn’t slept a wink all night. Her father was taking the train from Kiev to their family home in the western part of the nation. The train was under bombardment by Russian forces, The anxiety and uncertainty of the journey in midst of the crisis prevented parent and children from getting any rest.

BARABÁS, Hungary (CNS) -- As millions of Ukrainian refugees continue to flee the ongoing violence of Russian aggression, many have found some comfort in neighboring Hungary thanks to the efforts of Caritas.

As an ordinary Ukrainian far from home, Maria Ivaniv has struggled with all the emotions the outbreak of war was bound to fuel — fear, anger, despair and confusion. As a theologian, she looks to the Church for hope.

A community of nuns in western Ukraine near the border to Slovakia is rallying to help people desperate to flee from the death and destruction brought on by the Russian invasion.