Prešov (Slovakia) (AFP)

In a hospital with broken windows in Presov, in poor eastern Slovakia, Father Martin helps overwhelmed medical staff fight Covid-19, in a country with the highest death rate in the world.

Dressed in a full protective suit with his name scribbled in red marker, the priest helps move, feed and wash patients.

He prays with them and occasionally tries to make them laugh.

Father Martin Miskuf, 32, is one of dozens of Catholic priests who volunteered in January to help caregivers in areas particularly affected by the pandemic in eastern Slovakia.

"They light up our days," says Eva, 66, between breaths of oxygen that she sucks from a ventilator.

In the corridor of this hospital with peeling paint, lies a body wrapped in an emergency blanket.

This EU country of 5.4 million inhabitants currently records a rate of 24 deaths from Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days, the highest in the world ahead of Portugal (22) and the Czech Republic (18), according to an AFP count.

In total, 3,900 Covid patients are currently hospitalized, while the total number of deaths is 6,350.

During his eight hours of service each day, Father Martin sees death on a daily basis, but for those who believe in the resurrection, this is not the end of the journey.

"Seeing people die is difficult but it is also an encouragement in my faith", he told AFP, "For me, these people are also human souls that the Lord awaits".

- "We feel more useful" -

With churches closed, 77 Catholic priests volunteered in January to help in hospitals in the eastern part of the country, a poor region, where the GDP per capita is three times lower than that of the capital Bratislava.

"Due to the confinement, we had no direct contact with people and therefore felt useless," says Father Jozef Kmec.

Today, this personal secretary to the local archbishop is participating in registrations at a nearby vaccination center.

"The initiative was born on our Facebook group at the beginning of January and quickly spread throughout the region," he says.

“We feel more useful here,” he says.

"Our priests try to relieve the medical personnel who do not have time to speak to the patients. They reassure them. And the medical personnel swear less in the presence of the religious", he observes.

For Lenka Molcsanyiova, a doctor working at the vaccination center, the priests are a "real blessing".

"Some of our patients turn to priests for a kind of psychological help, to talk about their problems. Sometimes it's like a confession for them", she notes.

“They are our angels,” comments head nurse Monika Kummerova.

- "The days go by faster" -

Daniela Semencikova, a 37-year-old mother of four, contracted the virus at the local hospital she visited when her daughter broke her arm.

"Thanks to these nice young people, the days go by faster," she said.

"Priests cheer us up, help us spiritually, pray with us, and offer us Holy Communion."

They keep their sense of humor despite the tragic context.

Father Martin smiled as he remembered the time an old lady said she was tired of drinking water and asked for a glass of rum.

"I told her we don't serve rum here, but I offered her 'wine' instead. She swallowed a glass of water without problem believing I had given her wine. a merciful lie, ”recalls the young priest.

© 2021 AFP