With the permission of our guests, we are sharing a photo of the Ukrainian family who stay in our house in Toruń (pictured above, family is accompanied by the community leader). Other Jesuit houses could also experience that „a guest in the house” is indeed „God in the house”. We have collected some accounts from our religious communities that have already received refugees from Ukraine in their homes:

Report from Łódź

Since last Sunday (20.03) two families from Ukraine have been living with us in our religious house. They were brought by the fire brigade from the sports hall where they had spent two days. Two mothers, four children and a grandmother. It is a very moving meeting from the very beginning. Tears of frightened women, embarrassed to cross the threshold of the religious house. And then, upon entering the large room, tears of happiness that they will be able to stay here for a longer time.

Account from the Jesuit Community in Warsaw

Father Rector says that the entire house is now alive with guests from Ukraine. There are sixteen of them, including four children and two people with disabilities. On the notice board there is a list of Jesuits who are available for refugees on a given day. Our guests find it hard to believe that they are safe, they rarely leave their rooms. They are also very embarrassed when they see Jesuits bringing various things from their rooms, which could be useful to them during their stay in our house.

Report from the Jesuit Community and Novitiate in Gdynia

The first people to live with us were parents with three children. The son is undergoing haematological treatment and stays with his mother in a hospital in Gdańsk. The father was released from military service due to the illness of his son and the care of his two daughters. The novices are helping them to acclimatize. Soon the rooms in the crown of the church will be ready for more families. Also our kindergarten will be enlarged so that Ukrainian children can join the group of Polish children, as there is already one Ukrainian teacher working there. At the moment we already have four Ukrainian children in our kindergarten. Moreover, four Ukrainian pupils have been accepted to our Jesuit School Complex in Gdynia.

Report from Nowy Sącz

In the parish of Nowy Sacz we received over 20 refugees: mothers with children. Our religious house accommodated 5 people, the rest were hosted by our parishioners. The parish also supports a group staying in Rytro near Nowy Sacz. Helping those in need unites us, and the generosity we see among all parishioners builds us all up.

Report from Gliwice

In our house in Gliwice there are already 20 refugees from Ukraine. Among them are three 15-month-old children: two boys and a girl. The guests cook by themselves. From time to time, the Jesuits post announcements of current needs on their Facebook page: a cradle for the baby, pampers no. 4, pillows, three round plastic bowls (to fit into a paddling pool), three oblong bowls (to fit into a bathtub), laptops for distance learning… The response of the faithful is so generous that they often have to announce that they do not need particular things anymore.