A Future Not Forgotten

Knights in Ukraine offer scholarships to young people who have lost a parent — just as Father McGivney once did

By Kateryna Kolodii

Nov. 19, 2025

Man and daughter praying — Ukraine State Deputy Mykola Mostovyak and scholarship recipient Kateryna Poplavska make the sign of the cross during the Divine Liturgy that accompanied the distribution of Father Michael McGivney Scholarships in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, Sept. 7. (Castletown Media)

Amid the turmoil of war in Ukraine, many children and young adults who have lost a parent are struggling to pursue an education — a reality that prompted the Knights of Columbus to introduce a new scholarship fund named for the Order’s founder, Blessed Michael McGivney.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, one in five Ukrainian children report having lost a close relative or friend. More than 13,000 have been left without parental care, and nearly half have experienced displacement, either within the country or abroad.

In response to this crisis, Ukraine State Council established the McGivney Scholarship Fund this year to help young people who have lost a parent in the war pursue an education at the high school or university level. To date, 15 students from parishes served by 13 councils across Ukraine have each received $1,000 scholarships. The councils identified and recommended candidates, organized award ceremonies with liturgical celebrations, and remain committed to ongoing prayer and spiritual support — all to ensure that the loss of a parent does not also mean the loss of a future.

Father McGivney’s legacy of responding to personal loss with communal support lies at the very heart of the scholarship program, which is sustained through the Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund.

Father McGivney himself lost his father as a young man in 1873 — a tragedy that forced him to put his seminary studies on hold in order to provide for his mother and younger siblings. With the Church’s support, he was eventually able to resume his formation. The experience helped shape to his life’s mission.

“Going through such trials strengthened his faith and his vocation,” explained Father Vitalii Martsyniuk, associate state chaplain of Ukraine, reflecting on Father McGivney’s life. “He understood that many people go through similar experiences, and I believe this was exactly what inspired him.”

For Knights in Ukraine, it’s an investment in the next generation. “We want them to have the opportunity to receive a quality education rather than remain victims of circumstance,” said Ukraine State Deputy Mykola Mostovyak, who joined representatives from local councils at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv on Sept. 7 to distribute the McGivney scholarships. Similar award ceremonies took place around the country to distribute the scholarships, each beginning with a celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

Kateryna Poplavska, an 18-year-old theater management student at the Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television, received a $1,000 McGivney scholarship at the Sept. 7 ceremony in Kyiv. Her mother, a medical doctor, was killed during a missile strike on Kyiv in 2024.

“I was at my dance class when they told me that a missile hit my mom’s practice,” Poplavska recalled.

Faced with the tragic loss of her mother, Poplavska — a stage actress who has performed professionally — said the McGivney scholarship will help advance her career. She recently enrolled in a theater program that will round out her acting experience with vocal and dance training.

“If it weren’t for the scholarship, I would not have been able to afford the classes,” Poplavska said. She expressed gratitude not only for her own opportunity, but also on behalf of her fellow scholarship recipients. “It’s heartwarming to know there are people out there who care,” she said.

Another scholarship recipient is 16-year-old Rostyslav Berezovskyi, an altar server who enjoys swimming and chess. He has also participated in Knights of Columbus activities, volunteering to distribute school supply packages to children.

His father, who was deployed with Ukraine’s armed forces in August 2022, died in combat in December 2024.

“Thanks to this scholarship from the Knights of Columbus, I was able to take an English course to improve my language skills,” said Berezovskyi. “I want to learn the language better so that I can enter a university — maybe even abroad.”

“It’s a huge gift from people who had never met me before,” he added.

Berezovskyi’s mother, Zhanna Berezovska, noted that the Knights’ assistance goes beyond the monetary.

“I am very grateful to the Knights for their support — for being present in our lives and offering encouragement, both to me and to my son,” she said. “I feel that I’m not completely alone: There are men I can call if I need help.”

Berezovska’s experience reflects the Knights’ ethos of service. “It’s one thing to give a child material support,” said Father Martsyniuk, “and another thing entirely to spend time with these children. Personal attention is what helps them heal from the wound of loss.”

Family members hugging — *Scholarship* *recipient Valeriia Skakovska embraces a family member during the distribution of Father Michael McGivney Scholarships in Zviahel, about 150 miles west of Kyiv, Sept. 14. (Castletown Media)*

Seventeen-year-old Valeriia Skakovska from Zviahel lost her father in 2023, when he was killed defending his country in the Zaporizhzhia region. Now, together with her mother and older sister, she is rebuilding her life and pursuing her education.

Creative by nature, Valeriia enjoys drawing, painting and knitting. This fall, however, she enrolled at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland, to study something completely different — international law.

The McGivney scholarship she received will allow her to purchase a computer, which is essential for her studies.

What drives Valeriia to excel academically is simple — and deeply human: “I want my family to heal, become even stronger and be happy in the future,” she said.

Support for education is central to the Order’s mission, explained Father Martsyniuk. “Father McGivney’s own trials, in part, led him to found the Knights of Columbus,” he said. “Today, we have the opportunity to help others.”

“If a family has the opportunity to further a child’s education, the child can grow and move forward — not just to stay at home and grieve their loss.”

It is with this goal in mind that Ukrainian Knights are finding inspiration in Blessed Michael McGivney’s original vision.

“Orphans in Ukraine should not have to give up their education due to lack of funds,” said Mostovyak. “They’re given a chance because there are brothers ready to support their path.”

To learn more about the Order’s work in Ukraine and to support those efforts, visit kofc.org/ukraine.

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KATERYNA KOLODII writes from Lviv, Ukraine.