On Friday Jan 31st 2020, a group of priests came to visit the Shrine and honour Blessed Vasyl`s holy relics. We were blessed to learn about one of them – Father Lionel Thieballt. After viewing a video presentation about Bishop Velychkovsky, Father Lionel recognized our martyr and shared a beautiful story. In 1972, Father Lionel was a chaplain at St. Vital hospital in Winnipeg (now St. Amant Centre) where a Ukrainian patient was dying. The patient requested for a Ukrainian Catholic priest to come and anoint him. Who arrived was none other than Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky. Father Lionel joined Blessed Vasyl who anointed this patient and prepared him for death.
These short stories are like puzzles that are parts of the history of our Blessed martyr`s life.
Father Lionel is second from the left