Last night my Dominican brother Fr. Kalisch and I stayed with the Dominican friars at Rzeszów. Again, the brothers were hosting refugees, but here in Rzeszów there is a special connection.
Parishioners of the Dominican church here are physicians or otherwise connected to local hospitals. The parishioners contacted the Dominicans asking for help.
The issue is several Ukrainian families have arrived in Rzeszów with children who are being treated for cancer. When they are receiving chemotherapy or other treatments mothers and children can stay in the local hospital. However, in between treatments the mothers and children need someplace local to stay, since traveling to and from can be so difficult with young, sick children.
The Dominican community in Rzeszów has opened their doors. They have several guest rooms on the first floor of the priory (that’s what Dominicans call their monasteries), which make it easy for families with children who use wheelchairs to come and go to and from the hospital, which is not far from the priory.