Meet Saint Javelin, Ukraine’s million-dollar meme

St. Javelin, a reimagined Virgin Mary, might not be a church-sanctioned saint, but in just a few months, she’s developed a devoted following as a viral meme. More impressively, she’s raised over 1 million dollars for the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion. The business is the brainchild of Christian Borys, a former journalist based in Canada, who spent years covering conflict in Ukraine and beyond. Borys helped create the image as it’s known now — one that’s now on countless laptops, T-shirts, flags, murals, and even tattoos around the world. His growing team has expanded the roster of weapon-toting saints, selling branded stickers, accessories, and apparel primarily online. Still ticking upward, the funds raised by the Saint Javelin campaign have gone toward everything from mental health charities to armor purchases for Ukrainian forces to the country’s drone program through United24, an initiative headed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read more: