CENTRALIA (AP) — Centralia is the spookiest and saddest place in Pennsylvania. An unquenchable 54-year-old underground coal fire compelled the relocation of virtually the entire population of the borough through federal government buyouts in the 1980s.

From a population of more than 1,000 in 1980, only a half-dozen holdouts remain in the Columbia County community.Improbably, however, there is life beyond their scattered homes. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church — perched on a hilltop just outside the borough line — is still active, drawing congregants on Sundays and holy days.This Sunday, the church will host a daylong event welcoming the faithful for liturgy and prayer. It’s the first event since Assumption was declared a holy pilgrimage site.“Everyone is invited,” said the Rev. Michael Hutsko, Assumption’s pastor of six years. “It’s not just for Eastern Catholics. It’s a call to prayer. We’re hoping people will leave with a renewed sense of God’s presence in their lives.”Founded in 1911, Assumption has about 50 parishioners. Last year, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, primate of the worldwide Ukrainian Catholic Church, visited and marveled at how the congregation had endured despite the desolation of the borough, which is essentially an empty street grid slowly being reclaimed by nature.Shevchuk likened the jarring emptiness to that of Pripyat, a Ukrainian town of 49,000 abandoned in 1986 after the Chernobyl nuclear plant catastrophe. But he saw a profound symbol of God’s presence in the persistence of the church.“He thought (Assumption) was so holy and spiritual, he wanted to make it special,” said the Rev. John Fields, spokesman for the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, explaining how the church earned its designation as a pilgrimage site.Sunday is the Feast of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God. The holy day corresponds to what Western Catholics call the Feast of the Assumption, commemorating Mary’s bodily ascent to heaven. It is also the date of the church’s founding.The theme of the pilgrimage is “Beseeching God’s Mercy — Praying for the Intercession of the Mother of God.”Events will begin at noon, with Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka of the archeparchy as main celebrant of the Divine Liturgy. A Living Rosary will be prayed at 2:30 p.m. before a jeweled 18th century copy of the Icon of Our Lady of Pochaiv.At 4 p.m., pilgrims will gather at the outdoor chapel for a candlelight procession and the Blessing of Water for the Jubilee Year of Mercy will take place at the Grotto of the Holy Cross. The water will be distributed to the pilgrims.That will be followed by the celebration of a Moleben to the Mother of God.Confessions will be available throughout the day at various locations on the church grounds.The event is rain or shine, with food provided from 1-4 p.m.The church is on North Paxton Street, two blocks north of Route 42. For more information, contact the rectory at 570-339-0650.