Married Saints: Blessed Volodymr Pyrmia
Feast day: April 2
As many of you already know, Ukraine has weighed heavily on my heart since the fighting began in the country. So this month, I wanted to offer something in addition to the opportunity to donate to Ukraine through the chotki — I want to tell you the story of a beautiful married Blessed. Only through God can good consequences come out of evil events. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, as a small community of Covenant, we could learn about this otherwise unknown holy man, pray for his cause, and assist in his canonization?
I’d like to introduce you to Volodymr Pryima. A modern saint, he was born July 17, 1906 in a village in western Ukraine called Stradch. He was formally educated as a singer of liturgical music and became the cantor and choir director for his local church choir. (Those of you who have followed Covenant Co. for a while know why this would give Volodymr a special place in my heart).
Little is known about him, but we do know that he had a wife and two children.
Just four days after the start of the German-Soviet War, a sick woman asked the local priest, Fr. Mykola Konrad, to hear her confession. Volodymr accompanied the priest, but sometime after their visit, they disappeared.
An account given by Yurii Sakavronskyi said:
“Fr. Konrad went with the holy sacraments to fulfill his sacred obligation, hearing a woman's confession in the neighboring village. He felt he had to go, though he was stopped. I know that they stopped him and said; 'Father, don't go. Look what's happening; the war has started, anything could happen.' He said that this was his sacred duty and that he had to go. He got dressed and left together with Volodymyr Pryjma, the cantor.
“They didn't come back. After a week, they were found there, murdered. People thought something was wrong. So they went to look for them and found them there. It was awful. The cantor's wife had two children. One was three, the other was four. Momma told how when they were found everyone was overcome by what they saw. The cantor was especially cut up, his chest stabbed with a bayonet many times."1
Fr. Konrad and Volodymr knew that they were risking their lives. Volodymr left his wife and children behind. They were both martyred on June 26, 1941 by agents of the Soviet Union's NKVD, a department of the Soviet government responsible for overseeing police work and running prison and labor camps. Volodymr was 3 weeks shy of his 35th birthday.
Sometimes, the best thing a husband can do for his wife and family is be an example of the faith for them.
Volodymr and Fr. Konrad were both beatified by St. Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.
Now that you know him, would you consider joining me in a novena for him? We can ask him to intercede for his homeland. If we begin on March 25, we’ll end on his feast day, April 2.
How do we pray a novena to an unknown saint? The novenas we currently pray are all simply passed on by tradition. As those of you who have already purchased a wedding planner know, a novena can truly be anything we want it to be. It can be as simple as saying this short prayer every day:
Blesseds Volodymr Pyrmia and Fr. Konrad, I ask you to intercede for a miraculous end of this conflict. I ask you to pray for peace for the world. Amen.
For further reading:
1. Church of the Martyrs: The New Saints of Ukraine. Lviv, Ukraine: St John's Monastery. 2002. p. 12. ISBN 966-561-345-6.
2. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=7718
