The Comfort Of All Those Wounded In Heart And Soul
Get ready!
Two American Catholic priests – Anglican/Episcopal and Roman – are about to hail the wife of a North American Orthodox Church priest who has been named a saint (She has been named a saint; not her husband.) and a newly declared candidate for sainthood from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while resurrecting a song from 1945.
First (and because too many don’t understand the idea of “praying” to saints and the “blessed”), let’s explore the very simple role of the saints in our spiritual lives.
In 1963, the Liverpool Football (“soccer” for Americans) Club adopted “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as the team anthem. A sweeping expression of hope, resilience and triumph in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulty, the song debuted in the 1945 Rogers & Hammerstein musical Carousel
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
It’s simple: Prayer is conversation. Nothing more. Nothing less. Whether it is with God as Father; Jesus, the Incarnate Word of the Father – God made flesh to consecrate and make holy our humanity, to walk with us; the Holy Spirit as Wisdom and Truth; or any of the thousands of “saints” and “blessed” of all the Christian churches of 2200 years.
In prayer, we speak to any - or all – of these. In our conversations with the saints – as we strengthen and deepen our friendships, as we become more intimate with them, we come to understand “You’ll never walk alone.” In acting kindly, doing justice, remaining faithful in the face of religious or political persecution, if we have established a personal friendship with one or more saints who have experienced the same trials and suffering, we “never walk alone.”
Children play in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kwethluk, Alaska
Now! Cheers and applause (no whistling, please) for the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America and the faithful of Kwethluk, Alaska.
[We can’t imagine a pep rally cheer for the Holy Synod - “Give me an H! Give me an O! give me an L!…”]
The Orthodox Church established a foothold in the present-day United States in the 18th and 19th Centuries with the arrival of Russian Orthodox missionaries in the czarist territory of Alaska. On June 19, the now independent Orthodox Church in America and the people of Kwethluk – population about 800 and accessible, depending on the weather, only by boat or small plane – hosted the “glorification” of Saint Olga of Kwethluk.
Born in 1916, St. Olga spent her entire life in Kwethluk with her Yup’k family and neighbors. The town derives its name from the Yup’k term for “dangerous river” and the new saint was originally referred to as Arrsamquq. Confirmed under the name Olga, her life followed the seasonal rhythms of subsistence living even after she married the Orthodox priest Nicolai Nichael with whom she had 13 children, five of whom died in childhood.
Known after her marriage as “Matushka Olga” – a term of respect for the wives of Orthodox priests, she fulfilled her role a spiritual mother by counseling women victims of abuse and women who had experienced miscarriages or other tragedies. Her kindness was often expressed in providing food or handmade clothing for those in need. On happier occasions she was a cherished and sought-after midwife.
Wiz Ruppert, reared in Matushka Olga’s home from about age three to 13, when her grandmother died on November 8, 1979, offered the Associated Press (June 25, 2025) a remarkable image of new saint. Recalling how her now glorified grandmother would sew fur boots with sealskin soles for others in the community, she noted:
“Those were really hard to work on. I would watch her chew the soles so they would be soft enough to sew.”
The original grave marker of Saint Olga. After her “glorification,” her body was permanently transferred to her parish church of St. Nicolas.
Ruppert and others reported the new saint never raised her voice. When she died at age 63, the Alaskan weather became unseasonably warm, allowing people to travel by boat from remote villages to attend her funeral, according to an official Church biography.
In a litany during the glorification ceremony, the Yup’k woman was honored as
“the healer of those who suffered abuse and tragedy, the mother of children separated from their parents, the swift aid of women in hard labor, the comfort of all those wounded in heart and soul.”
In prayer, she becomes the companion of women who have been abused, who know tragedy, who find themselves in hard labor, and those who accompany them.
Helen Larson, who attended the glorification of her mother, recalled watching the women (and some men) who sought her mother’s counsel:
“I used to read their faces. They’d feel heavy, by their facial expression, their body language. Then they’d have tea or coffee and talk, and by the time they go out, they’re much lighter and happier.” (Associated Press. June 26, 2025)
In a written reflection shared with the Associated Press (June 26, 2025) Nicholai Joekay of Bethel, Alaska, who is named for the new saint’s priest-husband, reflected the importance of this glorification of the first female Orthodox saint of North America:
“In church, up until today, we sang hymns of saints and holy people from foreign lands. We have had to learn foreign concepts that are mentioned in the Gospels referencing agricultural terms and concepts from cultures that are difficult for us to understand.
“Today, we sang hymns of a pious Yup’ik woman who lived a life that we can relate to with words that only we can pronounce properly. Today, God was closer to all of us.”
The spiritually wise develop friendships with men and women who have “lived a life that we can relate to with words (of the soul) that only we can pronounce properly.”
June 19 procession transfers the remains of Saint Olga to St. Nicholas Church in Kwethluk, Alaska in preparation for her “glorification.”
In a world of dictatorships and would-be autocrats, ethically corrupted governments and toadies who bow to” strongman” politicians, Popes Francis and Leo have set the son of a wealthy family, a young man who studied law and economics and was murdered a month after his twenty-sixth birthday on the road to becoming a Twenty-first Century “patron saint of honest civil servants and street kids.”
As a student, Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi joined the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Rome-based association of Catholic laity dedicated to providing social services and arbitrating conflicts. The special interest of the now “blessed” Bwana Chui was the street children of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, where he began his professional life as a claims officer at the customs and goods control agency, the Congolese Control Office. His primary duty was to evaluate products crossing the eastern border of the DRC.
It was a job that caused Bwana Chui to struggle with a moral dilemma: allowing the importation of contaminated goods from neighboring Rwanda without proper documentation and authorizing its resale in the DRC. He chose to speak up against corruption and was killed because he refused to accept bribes.
On November 15, 2024, Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Bwana Chui and authorized the publication of the decree announcing his beatification. The decree reflected Pope Francis’ understanding of martyrdom as a social justice concept, allowing those deemed to have been killed for doing God’s work and following the Gospel to be considered for sainthood. The beatification was celebrated on June 15 in the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui bin Kositi
The following day, Pope Leo XIV addressed Congolese pilgrims:
“This African martyr, in a continent rich in youths, shows how young people can be leaven for peace - peace that is unarmed and disarming…
“Where did such a young man find the strength to resist corruption, so deeply rooted in the current mentality and capable of unleashing violence?
“(His) decision to keep his hands clean - as a customs officer - was shaped by a conscience formed through prayer, listening to the word of God, and communion with his brothers and sisters.
“He lived the spirituality of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which Pope Francis summarized with three ‘Ps’ - prayer, the poor, and peace.
“The poor were central in his life. Blessed Floribert had a committed relationship with street children, driven to Goma by war, disdained and orphaned.
“He loved them with the charity of Christ; he cared for them and was concerned about their human and Christian formation. Floribert’s strength grew from his faithfulness to prayer and to the poor.”
Pope Leo explained that Blessed Bwana Chui was a man of peace:
“In a region as afflicted as Kivu, torn by violence, he waged his battle for peace with gentleness - serving the poor, fostering friendship and encounter in a fractured society.
“This young man, not resigned to evil, had a dream — nourished by the words of the Gospel and closeness to the Lord. Many young people felt abandoned and hopeless, but Floribert listened to Jesus’ words: ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you’ (Jn 14:18).”
Pope Leo noted testimony that indicated Bwana Chui “preferred to die rather than allow through food that could harm many people.” Testimony examined in the course of approving his beatification indicated that he refused to be bribed and reportedly went on to destroy expired and spoiled rice. Because of his honesty and moral integrity, he was abducted and murdered by unknown assailants. According to witnesses, he was known for saying “Money will disappear quickly. And what about those who would have consumed these products.”
The July 8 procession marking the translation of the relics of Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui bin Kositi, martyr of honesty and moral integrity, to the cathedral in Goma, DRC
From one of America’s smallest communities comes a new saint, a model of simple kindness.
From the Democratic Republic of Congo we receive a new “Blessed,” who models genuine political courage. Courage founded on prayer, the poor, and peace.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus. Matthew 11:15
If, in prayerful conversations, Americans – especially those in “public service” – develop intimate friendships with folks like Matushka Olga and Blessed Bwana Chui, they will know and understand
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark…
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
In truth, we don’t pray to the saints as if adoring or worshiping them. We talk to our friends, we have conversations with them, we ask them “Walk with me, especially through the most difficult times. Walk with me.”