Romania: Bishop Bercea visits Ukrainian refugees in Sighet. “What is happening is a tragedy”

“I saw sad faces, and I too came back sad from there. What is happening is a tragedy”, said Mgr. Virgil Bercea, Bishop of the Eparchy of Oradea, after his visit to a Refugee Centre in Sighet set up in a monastery run by Greek Catholic nuns. The house of the Sisters of the Mother of God in Sighet, northern Romania, at the border with Ukraine, became a reception centre for refugees as soon as the war broke out. 1,200 refugees have found shelter with the sisters so far; some have decided to stay, especially mothers with children. Two weeks ago, seminarians came from Oradea, Blaj and Cluj to help the sisters manage the situation. As he met them, Mgr. Bercea reminded them that the Church “is committed to help the needy, especially these people who had to flee their homes and homeland to escape the war”. The Bishop was very touched by the pain of refugee women and their children in Sighet: “When they saw me, they almost all began to cry and I tried to pass by very discreetly, so as not to hurt them even more”. Speaking with the Greek Catholic Caritas of Oradea, Mgr. Bercea praised the help offered by Romanians to the refugees, stressing that the aid to Ukrainians “is for the suffering Christ”. On the same day, Caritas sent a second convoy with two tons of humanitarian aid to Apsha, Ukraine, loaded with food, sanitary products, shoes, and clothing.
Cristina Grigore