Bucharest, August 18, 2020
basilica.ro
On August 16, the feast of St. Constantine Brâncoveanu, his sons Constantine, Stephan, Radu, and Matthew, and his counselor Ianache, who were all martyred by Turks in 1714 for refusing to convert to Islam, a new crisis pregnancy center was opened and blessed in Bucharest.
The Brâncoveanu Martyrs are the patron saints of the pro-life cause in Romania.
The new St. Helen Center was blessed by Fr. Ciprian Ionita, who also offered a gift on behalf of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel—an icon of St. Helen, the patron of the new center, and her son St. Constantine.
Pat. Daniel also donated $7,385 (30,000 lei) during the fundraising campaign which managed to raise the necessary funds to open and operate the center through the end of October in just two months.
“We thank His Beatitude the Patriarch for his spiritual and material support and for being a true parent of children born and unborn,” said Alexandra Nadane, the Executive Director of the Association for the Support of Pregnant Women and the Family, at the inauguration.
The gratitude expressed was truly “from the heart, because his gift covers about a third of the amount requested—it is the most sizable,” she added.
The St. Helen Center will provide short-term support before birth and in the first months after birth. It should be able to provide psychological and material help to about 1,500 women every year.
