Star of Canadian and American television, now a priest, will perform at UCU

On March 18 and 19 at the Ukrainian Catholic University, an actor and singer known in the USA and Canada, now a priest, Fr. Edward Danylo Evanko, will present two one-man plays, «Damien» (on March 18 at 15:00, Khutorivka St., Philosophy and Theology Faculty Building) and «Be Well and Prosper, My Beloved Ukraine» (on March 19 at 16:00, Sventsitskoho St., 17). Both performances are in the English language. After each presentation there will be a chance to speak with the actor and priest. The one-man play «Damien» tells the story of a Catholic missionary who devoted his life to ministering to lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. The one-man play «Be Well and Prosper, My Beloved Ukraine» is a story of the Holodomor [forced famine] of 1932-33, built on the testimonies of people who survived this tragedy and on songs of witness from Ukrainian history. About his vocation Father Edward himself says: «A person chooses the way of priesthood in response to a vocation. If this person is happy already, it gets a special appeal then in the vocation. The latter allows one to fill a niche particular for him alone. This second vocation consists in deepening the faith of people, to inspire them so that they can boldly answer ‘yes’ to the call to serve others.» «Edward Danylo Evanko very delicately joins the skills and talents of an actor and singer with the experience of a theologian and ministering priest. This union bears its fruits, for which, as has been demonstrated, people are very thirsty.” So wrote the "Post Tribune" about the one-man plays of Father Edward Evanko. For almost five years now Father Edward has traveled from country to country and shared with people the fruits of his special vocation: Rome, London, Ottawa, Chicago, Stratford, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Regina, Saskatoon, Brandon, Roseburg, Okburn, Virden, World Youth Day in Australia, and now Lviv and Kyiv. Because of his performances, thousands of people in different corners of the world have for the first time learned of and experienced the whole tragedy of the Holodomor and come to understand its significance in the history of humanity. Edward Danylo Evanko was born in 1938 in Winnipeg. His parents Danylo and Justyna originally came from the Ternopil’ Region. His acting talents were revealed in his childhood. He was a member of the Winnipeg Boy’s Choir and won trophies at the Manitoba Musical Festival. In 1967 he hosted a very popular TV show (the Ed Evanko Show) on the central Canadian TV channel (CBC). In 1969 he debuted on Broadway with the leading actress Sandy Duncan. He starred in “Sweeney Todd” with Jean Stapleton in California. In 2001 he entered the Pontifical Beda College in Rome and in 2005 was ordained a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada. He is now the pastor of the Church of the Holy Dormition of the Mother of God in Richmond, British Columbia.

Department of Information and External Relations of UCU