Fr Vasyl Kren, a vivacious straight talking Ukrainian, has been a chaplain at HMP Edinburgh since 2016, writes Stuart Conlan of Crux.

He has a very congenial personality, and the strength of an ox to match. Inmates respect him.

He has the care of around 900 souls and attends the prison around four days a week (his main job is administrator of Our Lady of Pochaiv and St Andrew’s, a Ukrainian Catholic Church on Dalmeny Street).

Recently, Crux joined him there to find out more about his role.

“When I was first appointed as a prison chaplain, I feared my English would not be up to the task," he said.

"That said, I speak several languages besides English including Slovak, Russian, Serbian, Polish and Croatian, as well as my native Ukrainian.

"And, as my English has improved over the years, I have been able to function as a bridge for many non-English speaking inmates.

Joining inmates for Mass brings treasure for the volunteers as well as for the prisoners

"When I arrive at my office in the morning, I check what has been happening overnight to see if anyone is ill or if anybody has asked to see me.

"I prioritise first timers and those on the ‘talk-to-me’ programme, which is the Scottish Government’s strategy aimed at reducing suicide rates in prisons.”

Fr Vasyl tells me that when tough times come, he very often finds prisoners are keen to talk about God.

They might for example try to pray or to read a Bible.

However, many have no idea how to follow through, so to speak, and are at a loss as to how to take the next step.

They ask him – what shall I do?

Fr Vasyl studied theology for five years in Ukraine followed by a further six years of study in Zagreb, Croatia.

He offers Sunday Mass for around 40 prisoners and staff in the prison Chaplaincy.

A handful of volunteers, including me, have had the privilege of assisting him on several occasions.

I must tell you it is quite an unparallelled and humbling experience.

As well as administering the sacraments, Fr Vasyl also offers sessions in bereavement counselling, scripture study, and he helps with arranging meetings with writers and with ex-prisoners who have successfully turned their lives around.

Being of the Eastern Catholic Church, which is in union with Rome, Fr Vasyl also has Vladyslava his wife and Gabriela their young daughter to look after in their family home in Edinburgh.

He tells me how he has been supported by the Archdiocese and by his brother priests including Canon Jock Dalrymple (St John the Evangelist & St Mary Magdalene's, Portobello), Canon Brian Gowans (St Serf's, Kirkcaldy) and Fr Basil Clark (Our Lady of Loretto & St Michael, Musselburgh).

He laughs mischievously as he adds, “Oh, Archbishop Cushley, he is my godfather!” (Fr Vasyl and His Grace arrived in Edinburgh at the same time 10 years ago and immediately hit it off.)

As our time together ends, Fr Vasyl talks about the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) volunteers who assist at Mass in HMP Edinburgh. “It is a calling of the heart and a desire to bring the light of the resurrection to those places where there may be only darkness.

"Joining inmates for Mass brings treasure for the volunteers as well as for the prisoners.”

If you are interested in assisting at Mass in HMP Edinburgh with SSVP, then please contact ppccathedral@stmaryscathedral.co.uk. The full article by Stuart Conlan appears in the latest edition of Crux, the magazine of the Friends of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. All images: Ieva Marija Photography.