The Catholic Church in Ukraine consists of members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church as well as the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, Ruthenian Catholic Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church. The majority of Ukrainian Catholics belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church in the territories of modern Ukraine has been strongly associated with Poland and Poles, but the church has emphasized a Ukrainian identity since the nation's independence from the Soviet Union. The history of the Catholic Church in modern Ukraine starts with establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv in the 14th century, after annexation of the Kingdom of Ruthenia by the Kingdom of Poland in course of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. In 2001, Ukraine was visited by Pope John Paul II, who held official and informal meetings in Kyiv and Lviv. Obviously the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Latin Church in the country warmly greeted a visit from their spiritual father. Non-Catholic religious communities expressed hope that the visit would encourage a spiritual and cultural renewal in a country troubled by economic and social problems. Catholic charity Caritas Spes functions in 12 regions of the country, has 40 centers engaging 500 employees and volunteers. It runs six family-style homes for orphans with 60 children, financed health rehabilitation camps situated in environmentally healthful areas around Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Transcarpathian regions, benefits 2,500 children each year. About 12,000 Ukrainian children, mainly victims of Chernobyl, orphans, and children from poor families, had their health improved in this way in 2002–2007.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine RiteEastern Catholic Churchin full communion with the Holy See. The ordinary of the church holds the title of Major Archbishop of Kiev-Halych and All Ruthenia, though the hierarchs and faithful of the church have acclaimed their ordinary as "Patriarch" and have requested Papal recognition of, and elevation to, this title. Major archbishop is a unique title within the Catholic Church that was introduced in 1963 as part of political compromise. Since March 2011 the head of the church is Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
The present Archbishop for the Latins is Mieczysław Mokrzycki. The Latin Church in Ukraine had in 2007 905 communities, 88 monasteries, 656 monks and nuns, 527 priests, 713 churches, 39 missions, 8 educational institutions, 551 Sunday schools, 14 periodical editions.
