Consecrated virgin 'gives all, day and night,' amid Russia's war in Ukraine

ODESA, Ukraine (OSV News) -- A consecrated virgin in Ukraine told OSV News she is grateful for her vocation, which enables her to "give all, day and night," to those impoverished by Russia's decade-long war against her nation.

"For me it is a great privilege," said Olena Punda, speaking to OSV News Sept. 5 in the historic port city of Odesa, located on the Black Sea.

Punda, who hails from Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, took her vows as a consecrated virgin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Odesa-Simferopol in 2021, having formerly been a member of a religious congregation.

She told OSV News that while she was serving in her previous order -- the "particular mission" of which was "working with the poor" -- she "felt a calling to (an even) more personal relationship with God," especially in prayer.

"I felt I needed more space for this personal prayer, and more time (for it)," said Punda.

She began discerning a vocation to the life of a consecrated virgin, by which a never-married, celibate woman, after a period of formation, vows under her diocesan bishop to dedicate herself to Christ "with spousal love … in virginity," while remaining in her "ordinary context of life" in her diocesan community, as described in the 2018 Vatican instruction on the vocation, "Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago."

The vocation, which emerged in the church's first centuries but was eclipsed by consecrated life in religious communities, was renewed by St. Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council. In 1970, the pope promulgated a new liturgical rite for the consecration of women living "in saeculo" ("in the world"), as well as a form for perpetually professed nuns living in community.

Punda, who lives alone, begins her day at 5 a.m. with prayer at her home, where -- with episcopal permission -- a tabernacle is present. She then heads to the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Odesa, whose main altar's Marian image received a papal crown in August 2022 -- eight months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which continues attacks launched in 2014.

Daily Mass is followed by morning prayer with "all the priests of the cathedral," followed by a group breakfast, said Punda.

"We share the Eucharist and the table," Punda said.

And then the work day begins, with the priests and Punda -- who provides administrative support for Bishop Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk of Odesa-Simferopol -- putting in long hours to keep the diocese running smoothly, even as Russia's war on Ukraine has created a host of humanitarian and spiritual challenges.

"When the war started, our life changed, and our ministry expanded," Punda said.

Along with handling chancery correspondence, Punda coordinates "various charity projects" and other initiatives for the diocese.

"And we also go out to extend a hand of help to the underprivileged and those who have suffered from the war," especially those in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions within the diocese, she said.

Punda admitted that "sometimes it's dangerous to go" to such places, given Russia's relentless attacks on civilian targets.

But "there are people there where no one can reach them," she said. "They need basic things, such as food, hygienics and cleaning products."

In Odesa and other cities, the need is just as great, since "they are filled with internally displaced people who have no means to survive," said Punda. "So many people come to our church just to have anything we can give."

As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine -- declared a genocide in joint reports by New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights -- approaches its third year, "there is a lot to be done" to help those suffering, Punda said.

Her vocation as a consecrated virgin uniquely enables her to assist the church in that mission, she said.

"It is important in a special way, because you can give all of you, day and night, when the need arises," said Punda. "A wife or husband with children has so many cares, and they don't necessarily have that opportunity to give themselves to that kind of service."

Ultimately, her vocation is a grace, she said.

"It is God who can use me all the time that he needs, where he wants and to whom he wants," said Punda.