Maria Aparecida Beruski, also known as Berushko,Her ancestral

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

name was Berushko, but it was derived as Beruski in Brazil. Posthumously, many prefer to address her by her ancestral surname. was a school

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

who died saving her students in a school fire in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. She may become the first

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

saint in Latin America. Maria, being of

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.''Orthodoxy in Ukraine Portal, 15.10.2007, Ukrainian language'' It is expected the final decision to be made within three years. A street in the Brazilian town of

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

has already been named after Beruski (Rua Maria Aparecida Beruski).

References

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 {{Brazil-bio-stub