Rev. Andrew Truch

Rev. Andrew Truch, OSBM [о. Андрій Трух], ( b. February 19, 1894, Hirne, now Stryi District, Lviv Oblast [у селі Гірне Стрийського повіту]; d. May 9, 1959, Grimsby, Ontario), military commander, and later a Basilian priest. Fr. Andrew wrote the words to a number of songs, including “Chervona Kalyna,“ the song of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. He contributed the lines that begin with “Машерують наші добровольці у кривавий тан….” After serving as a commander in the army of the Sich Riflemen (1914-20), he entered the seminary and eventually became a priest in 1926. In the summer of 1933 he immigrated to Canada and was sent to work in many different communities (Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Mundare, Toronto). In addition to his pastoral and missionary work, he was also a writer and publisher. He passed away in 1959 in Grimsby, Ontario, and is buried near Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1926: Ordained.

1926-33: Served in Halychyna.

1933: Immigrated to Canada.

1935-37: Pastor at St. Nicholas Church in Winnipeg.