What many believe to be an act of genocide perpetrated against the Ukrainian people by the former Soviet government of Joseph Stalin will be marked this weekend with a memorial service at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

Holodomor, also known as the Great Famine, was what is believed to be the intentional starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933. It’s widely believed to have been an attempt to suppress an independence movement in Ukraine when the region was part of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine was a bread basket of the former Soviet Union, producing a huge amount of grain, but the USSR imposed grain quotas on the area, creating widespread famine.

This year marking the event is even more poignant given the ongoing Russian invasion and war in Ukraine.

Millions of Ukrainians are believed to have died. Bruce Lilly of the Ukrainian Cultural Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador says they will be marking the 89th anniversary of Holodomor, translated as “death by starvation”, at the Basilica this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

He says the entire service will take about a half-hour, followed by a candle lighting. Everyone is welcome but those who are unable to attend are encouraged to light a candle in their window as a sign of solidarity.