As we join together with family and friends to give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed on us, we, the Sisters of St. Basil, thank you, our dear friends, for the many ways you have graced our lives. You are in our daily prayers, as we praise and thank God for each and every one of you. From our hearts to yours, we wish you a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
You are invited to the Christmas Open House at the Religious Gift Shop.
Sister M. Valeria Evanyo, O. S. B. M., a Sister of the Uniontown Province of the Sisters of St. Basil, fell asleep in the Lord at. Mt. Macrina Manor in Uniontown on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. She was born Helen on February 18, 1932, in Pittsburgh, Pa., the youngest of three daughters of the late Michael and Mary (Minarish) Evanyo. Her early education was received at Pittsburgh public schools, and later graduated from Mt. Macrina Academy in Uniontown.
After entrance into the Basilian community from St. John the Baptist Parish on the South Side, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Carlow (then Mt. Mercy) College. Her first ministry was teaching in parochial schools: Pottstown, Mont Clare, and Uniontown, PA; in Bridgeport, CT.; Chicago, IL; Cleveland and Lorain, OH.
A love for developmentally challenged children impelled Sister Valeria to pursue a master’s degree in special education, teaching at the Rose-Mary Center in Cleveland and at the Intermediate Unit in Uniontown.
The Lord’s call became quite different when she was appointed a secretary to the English Section of the Secretary of State at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. Serving in Rome for thirteen years, she served in written communicating for both the Holy Father John Paul II, and for other Vatican offices. Sr. Valeria has the unique distinction among the Basilian community of having worked for a saint (St. John Paul II).
Back in America, Sister Valeria assumed the responsibility of secretary for +Bishop Basil Schott at the Eparchy of Parma. This was followed when she became the receptionist at the Chancery of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh until her retirement from active ministry in August of 2014. Health issues took her to the monastery in August of 2022, and then to Mt. Macrina Manor.
Throughout her life of service, Sr. Valeria was known for her light-hearted spirit and great sense of humor.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters, Mary Corso and Pauline Benedik. Left to cherish her memory are her nieces and nephews: Theresa and Thomas Benedik, Emily O’Keefe, Barbara Fair, June Murray, and Virginia Corso-Phinney, Urban, William and Martin Corso.
Friends will be received at the monastery on Friday, October 31, 2025, from 3:00 until 6:15 p.m., when the Parastas service for a Nun will be celebrated. The funeral Divine Liturgy will be celebrated by Most Reverend Archbishop William C. Skurla on Saturday, November 1 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in the Sisters section of Mt. Macrina Cemetery.
In blessed repose grant eternal rest O Lord to your departed handmaid Sister Valeria and remember her forever!
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General References for the Entire Pilgrimage |
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Marian Hymnal |
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Cantor Propers |
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Friday, August 29th |
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Office of Small Compline |
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Lesser Blessing of Water |
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Saturday, August 30th |
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Third Hour |
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Opening Divine Liturgy |
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Moleben to the Theotokos |
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Mystery of Anointing |
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Vespers with Divine Liturgy |
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Parastas |
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Sunday, August 31st |
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Divine Liturgy |
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Office of Matins |
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Church Slavonic Divine Liturgy |
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Divine Liturgy for Vocations |
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Mystery of Anointing |
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Hierarchical Divine Liturgy |
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Candlelight Procession |
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Monday, September 1st (Labor Day) |
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Divine Liturgy |
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by Sister Elaine Kisinko OSBM
Asking for help is not always an easy thing to do. We might be embarrassed that we cannot complete a task, be unable to handle some object, or decipher or understand some written words. We are usually grateful to those people who kindly come to our aid. When it comes to our prayer lives, however, we never stand alone. God the Father, Jesus, Mary His Mother, the angels and saints always listen, hear us, and help us.
Sometimes our prayers vary in intensity from bright, light and happy words of thanks-giving to dark and painful pleas of hurt and anguish. We might have special places where we appreciate spending time with our Lord whether that be with words or in silence.
A great gift of time and place for prayer is, of course, the 91st annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, this year over the Labor Day weekend from August 29 to September 1. As always, it is truly a time set apart for our spiritual growth, renewal, and refreshment.
It seems that difficulties can evoke people to ask in prayer for heavenly intervention and help. People turn to God in prayer. When thinking of our country and our world today, it is obvious that prayer is greatly needed. Increasing violence, unending wars, disregard for human life, natural and unnatural disasters, and the list could go on and on.
Please make an effort, if you are able, to bring your blessed presence to the Pilgrimage. Kindly come with your favorite prayers and hymns. Come to join the others in the prayer and song of our holy and beautiful Church. We Sisters are grateful for each Pilgrim, from the youngest to the oldest who for four unique days will gather with our Bishops, Clergy and each other to ask in hope for the help we need, both personal and for the healing of our country and our world. We pray that the many people from near and far, united in the prayer, faith, and tradition of our treasured Byzantine Catholic Church, will travel to Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown safely to receive the grace of God which awaits them there.
Jubilees are an opportunity for all of our Sisters to thank God for the gift of their vocations. On Sunday, June 22, we had such an opportunity to celebrate with Sister Barbara Swindells the 70th Anniversary of her religious life.
Metropolitan Archbishop William C. Skurla offered the Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving. In his homily, Archbishop noted that the Gospel was particularly fitting since it was about the call of the Apostles. Like these apostles, Sister Barbara answered the invitation to follow Jesus and did so faithfully over the course of many years.
Sister Barbara Swindells entered the community from St. Mary Church in Chicago, Illinois. For over 20 years, Sister Barbara’s energy was devoted to education from the elementary level through high school, at times serving as principal or assistant principal. Following these years, Sister was involved in a variety of ministries, ranging from Religious Education to administration on the local level and as Provincial Councilor.
Sister Barbara spent many years as manager of Mt. St. Macrina Cemetery. She oversaw the reorganization of vast cemetery documents and had the foresight to initiate the Cemetery Integrated Management System, a computerized mapping system. Sister directed a further expansion of the cemetery and the renewal of the Bishop’s crypt area, while simultaneously caring for the many unseen but meticulous details required of management.
Presently, Sister Barbara schedules the requested Divine Liturgy intentions.
At the festive meal following the Liturgy, Sister Susan thanked Sister Barbara for her fidelity to her vocation and her life of faithful service. Each Sister also offered her congratulations to our Jubilarian, taking the opportunity to share memories of years gone by. Sister Barbara also shared a few remarks, thanking the sisters for all they did to make her celebration so joyful.
May God grant to Sister Barbara many spiritually fruitful, blessed, and happy years!
Why does Christmas resonate with so many people, even non-Christians? Why are there carols and songs about it, the giving of gifts, and the warm feelings and emotions it evokes at this time of year? Why Christmas?
Christmas celebrates a vulnerable, homeless child, born of a young, vulnerable, yet faith-filled woman, into a very poor and precarious situation. Christmas celebrates the faith of the magi that the star they followed would lead them to something special; the faith of the shepherds, who heard the music of the angels and followed; the faith of Mary and Joseph, who trusted in God, and protected their child against forces determined to kill him.
Christmas celebrates the triumph of vulnerability and humility over the forces of evil. Everyone in the story of Christmas is vulnerable, yet through humility and faith, they play their part in the history of our salvation.
Mary, a betrothed yet unwed mother, is vulnerable to the law, her family, and society’s derision. Joseph, who has no idea what is going on but wants to protect Mary from the law, would have divorced her privately, were it not for a dream. This would have left Mary to raise Jesus on her own and with no husband, would have rendered her a homeless beggar.
The magi, who went to Herod when they saw the star and realized they should not return to him, became vulnerable to his wrath.
I think Christmas resonates with us so much because it also taps into our vulnerability and humility. There is a unique joy and kindness at this time of year that is not as obvious at other times of year. I think it’s because Christmas reminds us of just how vulnerable we all are. Thanks to our humility and faith, we recognize that there is One, and only One, so much greater than ourselves, who is Love Incarnate.
The Sisters of St. Basil the Great wish you, from our home at Mt. St. Macrina to your home, a most blessed Christmas Season and a happy and healthy new year.
God is With Us!
Sr. Susan Sisko & the Sisters of St. Basil
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, O Most High.
To proclaim your love in the morning, and your faithfulness throughout the night.” (PS 92: 1-3)
Thanksgiving reminds us of that which we were born to do, (as the psalmist says), morning and throughout the night: give thanks and sing praise to our God.
Is our world perfect? Hardly. Would we like world peace? Most definitely. Do we, or our family members or friends have physical, emotional or spiritual ills? Probably. Do we often overlook or minimize our blessings because we are too focused on our misfortunes? Also, quite likely.
Despite the shortcomings in our world that we can quickly name, please take time this Thanksgiving to dwell, really dwell, on the blessings in your life. Allow the blessings to overshadow the difficulties. Allow the blessings to dominate your thoughts and control your emotions. Become a vessel of praise and thanksgiving this Thanksgiving Day.
Be assured, on this day that our nation sets aside to give thanks, we, the Sisters of St. Basil the Great, will be praying and giving thanks for each and every one of you. Our gratitude overflows for your generosity of time, talents and treasure that you have shared with us. We are truly blessed that you are a part of our lives. Thank you for being you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear Friends,
Sixty years ago, Julie Andrews strode through the Austrian Alps singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” Today, we sisters sing: “The Mount is alive with the sound of Pilgrims.”
What an amazing Pilgrimage! Your prayers, presence, and magnificent singing filled Mt. St. Macrina once again and will fuel its engine until Labor Day weekend next year.
You traveled from near and far via plane, car, camper, or perhaps via computer. However you experienced this year’s Otpust, we hope and pray that you came away from our 90th Pilgrimage with a renewed heart and spirit and that Our Lord and His Mother, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, give you the comfort and strength needed for the coming year.
Thank you for your participation, your prayers, and your support. We cannot begin to express what your presence means to the Sisters who call Mt. St. Macrina our home.
As we remove the tents, store the benches, and take stock of everything else, we can’t help but feel the anticipation for the 91st Pilgrimage, which will be here before we know it. We’ll be waiting for you!
May the Theotokos, Our Mother, walk with you every step of the journey, and may She be your ever-present Intercessor before the throne of her Son.
Gratefully in the Lord,
Sister Susan Sisko, OSBM
Provincial
Reunions are quite common: family reunions, high school class reunions, unexpected meetings with someone from one’s past, college homecoming weekends, and so on. When we gather at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mt. St. Macrina over the Labor Day weekend this year for the 90th Pilgrimage, it can be said that this, too, is a time of reunion.
On the obvious level, many of the people who have come have not seen each other since the last Pilgrimage. For them it is a time of renewing a friendship or of deepening an acquaintance, a sharing of the happenings in their lives since they last met. In the very early days of the Pilgrimage, many Pilgrims were immigrants not so long removed from their European homes. For them it truly was a reunion with family members who had settled in different, even distant, parts of America. Tears and emotion often were the norm as they prepared to board their buses to return home knowing they would not see each other until the next Pilgrimage.
Today, when technology can keep us together in close contact, there is still the joy and excitement of once again actually spending time with those who are usually only with us at this special event, our Pilgrimage.
Of course, by our prayer and our presence, we can become more reunited too with Our Lord and His Mother in a deeper way. Receiving the mysteries of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, participating in the prayer of the Divine Liturgies and other services, spending time in private prayer, visiting the Shrine and the other shrines, and even holding a candle while walking in procession or by watching it go by can strengthen and help us to grow in our relationships with them.
Every Pilgrimage is a special event with unique blessings. That this Pilgrimage this year is the 90th one gives us consideration of the number beyond counting of everyone: Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Religious, and Laity who, over that span of time walked these grounds, prayed, sang, and were blessed to be there united and reunited with each other just as we will be. Please come to share the blessings that you and your presence bring.