Statue of Catholic St. Volodymyr desecrated at Winnipeg church sent for restoration

A bronze statue of St.Volodymyr set off on a new pilgrimage Friday.

The statue of the saint at Winnipeg'sUkrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Sts. Vladimir and Olga, which was descrated in 2019,was finally sent away to be restored after what thecathedral's parish chair called "a challenging period of time."

Thestatue of the Catholic saint at the church on McGregorStreet, between Flora and Stella Avenues, was found decapitated early on the morning of May 21, 2019.

The head was leftwrapped up in a garbage bag at the front door of the cathedral a few days later.

Parish chair Nicholas Chubenkosaysthe statue's decapitation had a devastating impact on the church.

"It was very demoralizing. It was very sad. A lot of people were shocked by the desecration," Chubenko told CBC News. "This is an area, a very high-crime area just for the very reason that we've had incidents of this nature, but not to this significance.

"So in some ways the membership was just taken off guard. It was shocking and it was shocking to the entire community."

The work of famed sculptor Leo Mol stood outside the North End Winnipeg cathedral for decades and was blessed by thenPope John Paul II during his 1984 visit to Canada.

Chubenko credited Bennie Gusnowsky, who started a fundraiser on the website GoFundMe,for his efforts in securing sponsorships and funding, and tapping into resources through city council and private sponsors in the Ukrainian community.

"It's been well received and it's an important part of our property here at the cathedral, and not just for the cathedral but for the entire Ukrainian community here in Winnipeg as well."

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress also provided financial assistance by matchinggrants the cathedral was able to secure, said Chubenko.

Despite that aid, he said pulling together funds to help with the statue's restoration has not been easy, in part because oflower attendance at mass during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restoration is estimated to be complete in six to eight weeks, with the statue likely to be returned in February or March of next year.

A final decision on the placement of the statue has yet to be made, but Chubenko hopes that will be determinedin time for the feast day for St. Volodymyr in July 2022.

He also hopes there will be no more acts of vandalism against the church or its property.

"I think we've come to grips that this is going to possibly be an ongoing issue in this community, in this area sadly, and we just have to take precautions to make sure that it doesn't repeat itself again," Chubenko said.