CARNEGIE, Pa. — Father John Charest prayed this day would never come when he would see war on the people of Ukraine.
“I pray that it ends. We are pro-life all the way. We don’t war for anything,” Charest said.
Charest’s wife, Laryssa, said her parents are from Ukraine. She showed Channel 11 pictures of the Ukrainian children that fly to Pittsburgh each year to stay with her family.
“They heard the missile attacks, fighter jets above them. They saw a tank come through,” she said. “They’re right outside of Kyiv. We feel helpless. We don’t know if at some point communication is going to be cut off.”
The Charests called the group of children Thursday morning to make sure they were alright.
St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been in the Carnegie community since 1906. Right next to it sits a Russian Orthodox Church. Father Charest said he’s working with other local priests to begin weekly services to pray for peace.
“Father George at the Russian church and I have a very good relationship,” Charest said. “I don’t want anything to happen to his church or his people. They’re all good people. It’s not them doing this.”
Elsewhere in the Pittsburgh-area, demonstrators gathered in Squirrel Hill to hold a vigil for those in Ukraine.