About Our Branch
Our Story
The UCWLC branch at the Dormition of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church — known to most of us simply as St. Mary's — has been a vital part of parish life in Mississauga since 1968.
Our parish has deep roots in this city. In 1953, Mr. and Mrs. Lev Mizun donated land on Cawthra Road for the Ukrainian Catholic community to build a church. As the congregation grew, a stunning new church was designed by architect R. Dumyn and completed in 1977 — a landmark of Byzantine and Ukrainian church architecture with its white marble, central dome, and copper turrets topped with gold crosses. Today, the parish is home to over 1,300 families.
St. Mary's has always been more than a place of worship. It's where the annual Yarmarok Christmas Festival, Carassauga Festival – Festival of Cultures has drawn the wider Mississauga community for nearly five decades. It's where the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance School was born in the church basement over 50 years ago. It's where the Sadochok Ukrainian Nursery School continues to nurture the next generation. And it's where the women of the UCWLC have been at the centre of it all — organizing, volunteering, praying, and building community.
Part of Something Bigger
Our branch is part of the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada (UCWLC), the official association of laywomen of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada. Founded nationally in 1944 and granted a Federal Charter in 1980, the UCWLC is a self-sufficient, non-political, non-profit charitable organization with approximately 5,000 members across five eparchies: Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and New Westminster.
We belong to the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada and are connected to the wider Ukrainian community through organizations like the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations.
Our patroness is the Most Holy Mother of God. Our official icon is the miraculous Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaiv. And our official publication is Nasha Doroha — a bilingual quarterly magazine that connects UCWLC members from coast to coast.
What We Stand For
Since 1944, the UCWLC has been guided by four fundamental aims:
Catholic Faith To develop and enrich each member's religious and spiritual life in the context of the Ukrainian Catholic Church — its liturgy, theology, spirituality, practices, and traditions.
Ukrainian Culture To preserve, promote, and develop Ukrainian heritage, language, culture, traditions, and arts — and to pass them on to future generations.
Social Development To deepen our sense of civic responsibility and to support programs that reflect Christian values of justice, love, the sanctity of human life, and the sacredness of the family.
Charitable Activities To serve those in need through works of mercy, charity, and mutual aid — addressing human needs in our parish, our city, and in Ukraine.
Our Leadership
Past President Irene Kujtan
President Marianna Martynets