Cambria County priest: “Ukraine is a God-loving nation.” When USSR collapsed, religion returned

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Father Andriy Kelt

… Father Andriy Kelt, Ukrainian Catholic priest teaches at Bishop Carroll HS


When Ukraine was under the control of the Soviet Union, they could not practice their faith, whatever it might me. Once the USSR fell, then religious freedom returned to the country, and a priest who is pastor of two churches in Cambria County took advantage of that. 


Now, the Russians are again attacking them, Father Andriy Kelt realizes that the damage to the country will be counted in many ways. This is a problem for so many Americans of Ukrainian descent, according to Father Andriy Kelt, who is pastor of churches in Northern Cambria and Revloc,


I am in grief … I have family there. They are all very scared. 


Phil Ray, “Priest in shock over attack,” Altoona Mirror, February 25, 2022


Putin invaded Ukraine this week, and the priest, who came to America to attend a seminary, is fearful for his country, particularly his father, who is still in a small village near Lviv, which is in the western area of the country. 


Becoming a priest


Father Kelt felt a calling to the priesthood at a young age, and as a result, found himself in a Catholic high school and then in an American seminary,


Fr. Andriy Kelt was born in the village of Verhnya Bilka.  At the age of 16, his pastor encouraged him to attend the Catholic High school in the city of Lviv.  While there, Andriy felt the call to serve the Lord in some way.  It was between the monastic life and the priestly life.  After some time of discernment, he decided to pursue priesthood.


In July of 2002, seminarian Andriy started his studies at St. Basil College Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut.  In 2003, he went on a mission trip to Kazakhstan in Asia to help teach religion to the Ukrainian Catholic children there.  Seminarian Andriy graduated from St. Basil College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts.


“Fr. Andriy Kelt,” One Step Closer Catholic


Mother is in the U.S.


The priest told the Mirror that he had spoken with his mother who is in America and his father who is still in Ukraine. 


Kelt was informed of the invasion Wednesday evening when he received a call from his mother, Tetyana, who was visiting cousins in Chicago.


His mother was crying as the invasion unfolded.


He later spoke to his father, Lyubomyr, who lives in a village near Kelt’s hometown of Lviv in western Ukraine. His father reported an explosion near the city.“I have family there. They are all very scared,” Kelt said.


He said his father has been through many hardships, and he explained Ukraine has suffered for many years.


With the invasion, his father told him as of Thursday, things were not good.


Lyubomyr is very “sad and alone” because his wife is not home, Kelt said in a soft-spoken and serious voice.


Phil Ray, Altoona Mirror, February 25, 2022


Graduate studies at Catholic University


After graduating from St. Basil’s, Father Kelt enrolled in an advanced degree program in Washington, D.C.,

  • In 2006, Andriy entered the Catholic University of America for the graduate program in theology, while completing his priestly formation at St. Josaphat’s Seminary in Washington, DC.  Throughout his studies in both seminaries, Andriy was assigned to different parishes in the USA to observe and help pastors.  In 2010 Andriy graduated from the Catholic University of America and St. Josaphat’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree.

  • In the Fall of 2012, Father Andriy was ordained a Deacon by Bishop John Bura.  On June 26, 2016 he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by his former rector, Bishop Bohdan Danylo.  Since September of 2016, Father Andriy serves as pastor of Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Revloc, Pennsylvania, and Immaculate Conception in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania.


“Fr. Andriy Kelt,” One Step Closer Catholic

Ukraine a very religious country


Father Kelt explained that he appreciated how the country had flourished religiously since the fall of the Soviet Union,


he pointed out the irony of just how fierce the attack is because the Ukrainian people are in reality “a very peaceful country.”


“We want to be left alone, and we want to develop and progress. We are a peaceful country, a

freedom-loving country, a religious people,” he said.


When the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became a free country, he spoke about how religion once again flourished.


Ukraine is a God-loving nation, he said.


Kelt went to Catholic high school in Livi, and it was in that city where he decided to become a priest.


Kelt not only serves the two small parishes but also teaches at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Ebensburg.


Phil Ray, Altoona Mirror, February 25, 2022


Peaceful, God-loving people— exactly what Putin despises.



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