Going Away This Summer? You Can Still Get to Church!
Ah, summer. Warm weather, barbecue, and road trips. I have many fond memories of summer trips with my parents and brother. Over the years we'd get in the truck and travel to Calgary, Banff, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Radium, Kananaskis – and of course the weekly visits to my Baba and Dido out in the country. We had a great time exploring the Calgary Zoo, the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens, mountains and hot springs.
Interestingly enough I don't remember ever going to church on vacation, or even when we visited my grandparents in the country (unless it was Christmas or Easter). I didn't think much of it then – in fact as a kid I'm sure I thought I was the luckiest to get to skip church – but now that I'm older I wonder why we didn't take the opportunity. I mean, it isn't actually hard to find a Catholic Church and I find it so interesting to visit churches that aren't my home parish. And after spending a fair amount of time traveling across Canada, the U.S., Europe and even as far as Australia, I've visited a lot of foreign churches. It's almost become a game of sorts to see if I can find, not just a Catholic Church, but a Ukrainian Catholic Church (or even an Orthodox one) in the place I'm traveling to. I have to tell you, I've been more successful than I thought. Here are some pictures of Ukrainian Catholic Churches I've visited, in some unexpected places:
Going through the places I've found Ukrainian Catholic Churches got me thinking: what about other places in Canada and the United State that I've visited? Did I miss Ukrainian Catholic Churches in some of those cities? And if not, what are some options of other Catholic Churches? My friends, the results of these musings are below! Behold, a list of Catholic churches, Ukrainian and otherwise, in some popular travel destinations across Canada and the United States:
CALGARY: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church (704 6 St NE, Calgary, AB)
St. Stephen Protomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church (4903 45 St SW, Calgary, AB)
BANFF: St. Mary's Catholic Church (1B1, 305 Squirrel St, Banff, AB)
JASPER: Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish (300 Bonhomme St, Jasper, AB) -
VANCOUVER: Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church ( 560 West 14th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.)
Holy Eucharist Cathedral ( 501 Fourth Ave, New Westminster, B.C.)
TORONTO AREA: St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church (143 Franklin Ave, Toronto, ON)
Church of St. Demetrius the Great Martyr (135 La Rose Ave, Etobicoke, ON)
St. Elias the Prophet Ukrainian Catholic Church (10193 Heritage Rd, Brampton, ON)
CAPE BRETON ISLAND: Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church (49 West St, Sydney, NS)
***For the rest of Canada, check out the eparchial websites below:
EPARCHY OF TORONTO AND EASTERN CANADA
UNITED STATES:
LOS ANGELES: Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church (5154 De Longer Ave, Los Angeles, CA)
ANAHEIM: Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church (995 N West St, Anaheim, CA)
Holy Cross Melkite Catholic Church (451 W Madison Ave, Placentia, CA)
LAS VEGAS: Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church (2120 S Lindell Rd, Las Vegas, NV)
NEW YORK: MANHATTAN – St. George's Ukrainian Catholic Church (30 E 7th St, New York, NY)
BROOKLYN – St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (261 Nineteenth Street, Brooklyn, NY)
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family (4250 Harewood Rd NE, Washington, DC)
Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek Catholic Church (8501 Lewinsville Rd, McLean, VA)
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (400 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC)
ORLANDO: St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church (5135 W Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL) -
This is not an extensive list by any means – I haven't even gone outside North America – but hopefully you can see how easy it actually is to find a Ukrainian Catholic Church, or at the very least Byzantine Catholic Church. Seriously, I mostly just typed "Ukrainian Catholic Church" into Google Maps to find the above churches.
So now I issue a challenge out to you! If you're traveling this summer see if you can find a Ukrainian Catholic Church at your destination to visit on Sunday. Take a picture and post it on Instagram with #ByzyTravellers. Don't forget to tag us in your posts – @stnicksyouth.
Here's to a summer of exploring our churches on vacation!
Joyanne :D
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