The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and interfaith leaders from the area recently held a Prayer Gathering for Peace in solidarity with the city’s Ukrainian community at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland.

According to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh's website, those involved in the event included the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, the Eparchy of St. Josaphat of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Center's Center for Loving Kindness and the Turkish Cultural Center Pittsburgh. According to Reuters, on Feb. 23 Pope Francis called on Catholics to dedicate Ash Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine.

“I appeal to all sides to abstain from any action that could provoke more suffering to the populations, destabilizing coexistence among nations and discrediting international law,” Pope Francis said.

Francis said in a Tweet that he implores God for an end to the war. He also exhorted all believers to remember that alongside the suffering in Ukraine, other wars continue to rage in Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia.

“I repeat: May weapons be silenced,” Pope Francis said. “God is with peacemakers, not with those who use violence.”

According to Popular Pittsburgh, more than 40,000 people living in the Pittsburgh area have Ukrainian heritage. The city has the fourth-largest Ukrainian population in the country, mostly concentrated in the South Side, Carnegie and McKees Rocks. There were once 21 Ukrainian Catholic Churches and 16 Orthodox Churches in the city and surrounding area. The report said that Pittsburgh has seen four major waves of immigration from Ukraine. The first was from 1880 to 1914, with the immigrants working in local mines and steel mills. There were other waves in the 1920s, 1950s and from 1991 to today.

“Because Ukraine is such a large country, it has often been a convergence of east and west, with those in the east being more heavily influenced by the Russian culture and Orthodox Church, while those in the west most associated with European culture and the Roman Catholic Church,” the Popular Pittsburgh report said. “Many conquering countries and regimes have tried to extinguish Ukrainian culture, and at present, sadly, that seems to be the case again. Here in the Pittsburgh area, those of Ukrainian descent have gone to great lengths to preserve their unique heritage."