Candlelight vigil held in Hudson for Ukrainian war victims

HUDSON – With colors of the Ukrainian flag flying in the gentle breeze, and candles flickering in the darkness, hundreds gathered in Hudson Sunday night to pray for the salvation of those who have died in the 12-day old Ukrainian War.

"We just try to do what our heart dictates us to do," said Rev. Janusz Jedrychowski, of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. "This is the most important (thing to do) because I say the goodness and the evil always comes from the human heart and it spreads."

Peter Bujanow’s parents fled Ukraine in the 1940s. He sees what’s happening now as history repeating itself.

"It’s important (to attend the vigil) for what’s happening," Bujanow stated. "It’s so unbelievable that in 2022 we can see another country invade without reason another country."

At 99 years of age, Anna Mattis was the oldest person who attended the vigil. Her parents emigrated from Ukraine more than a century ago.

"It makes us feel good (to attend this vigil)." she said, "because we’re doing it for others."

In her youth, Lloyda Moreno fled a war zone in Nicaragua. She sees parallels with what’s happening now in Ukraine.

"I know what the people can be suffering right now when they have to leave everything," she saidd "In a certain way we have been suffering the same thing, so the least I can show is a little bit of empathy with people that are suffering in the other end of the earth."