On March 2, Ash Wednesday and the one-week anniversary of the unjustified Russian invasion of the Ukraine, a bas-relief icon of Our Lady of Kiev was placed in the narthex of the Basilica with a backdrop of the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow. It has been said that the colors of the flag represent the landscape with its golden crops ready for harvest and the brilliance of the blue sky. We hold our brothers and sisters in our hearts, in our affection and in our prayers, many of which are Orthodox or Ukrainian Catholic. May the Lord watch over them in their peril. May Our Lady of Kiev protect them in all their trials.