| Saint Maria Beruski | |
|---|---|
 Icon of St. Maria Beruski by Michel Qapeluk, 2006 | |
| Martyr of Joaquim Távora | |
| Born | c. 1959 Joaquim Távora, Paraná, Brazil |
| Died | 4 April 1986(1986-04-04) (aged 26–27) Joaquim Távora |
| Venerated in | Ukrainian Orthodox Church |
| Feast | April 4 |
| Attributes | Orthodox cross and the eight students for whom she died |
Maria Aparecida Beruski, also known as Berushko (c. 1959 – 4 April 1986), was a school teacher who died saving her students in a school fire in Brazil. She may become the first Orthodox saint in Latin America.
Maria, being of Ukrainian descent, was born in 1959, in Joaquim Távora, Paraná, Brazil.
When a school caught fire in 1986, Maria refused a chance to leave the building, instead she stayed inside and assisted her pupils in escaping. Beruski assisted in saving the lives of 5 children, but 8 children died together with the teacher in the fire.
The Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Latin America already placed the issue of Maria's canonisation to the agenda. It is expected the final decision to be made within three years.
A street in the Brazilian town of Curitiba has already been named after Beruski (Rua Maria Aparecida Beruski).
References
- Sanidopoulos, John (April 4, 2018). "Maria Berushko of Brazil and Eight Students who Died Trying to Save Children During a Fire in their School (+1986)". Mystagogy Resource Center.
- Religious Information Service of Ukraine Portal News, in Ukrainian
- Orthodoxy in Ukraine Portal, 15.10.2007, Ukrainian language
- Her ancestral Ukrainian name was Berushko, but it was derived as Beruski in Brazil. Posthumously, many prefer to address her by her ancestral surname.
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- 1959 births
- 1986 deaths
- Brazilian people of Ukrainian descent
- Brazilian educational theorists
- People from Paraná (state)
- People from Curitiba
- 20th-century Christian saints
- Christian female saints of the Late Modern era
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Brazil
- Members of Ukrainian Orthodox church bodies
- Deaths from fire
- Accidental deaths in Brazil
- Brazilian people stubs