About Us

St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, Inc., USA, is a non-profit corporation founded by His Beatitude Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj in 1974. Its parent organization is the Rome-based Santa Sophia Ente Morale, also founded by the Patriarch in 1970. The principal aim of St. Sophia is to ensure the growth and development of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and specifically the institutions which were established or re-established by Patriarch Josyf. They include the Cathedral of St. Sophia, the St. Clement Pope Ukrainian Catholic University, and the Church of the Blessed Virgin of Zhyrovytsi and Ss. Sergius and Bacchus, all located in Rome, Italy.

The specific duties of the US Association are the following:

  1.  Raising funds for the development of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome and its affiliates;
  2.  Organizing and conducting seminars, lectures and courses on Ukrainian theology and culture;
  3.  Engaging in studies and research on the Christian religion, the history of Church and religion in Ukraine as well as the Ukrainian language and culture;
  4.  Furthering the growth of religious organizations and associations contributes to the strengthening of the Patriarchal structure of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Over the forty years of its existence, the American St. Sophia Association has awarded numerous scholarships to students of theology and Church history, published many religious and secular works in both English and Ukrainian, and sponsored sundry publications on Ukrainian spirituality. Among its most enduring achievements is the construction of the Josyf Slipyj Memorial Museum in his native village of Zazdrist, Ukraine.  Under the aegis of St. Sophia Association, the Josyf Slipyj Research Center is collecting and analyzing materials dealing with His Beatitude’s work in the diaspora.