The head of the Ukrainian State Patriarchate met with the Pope and handed him a list of captured Ukrainians – photo
The head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, Svyatoslav (Shevchuk), met in the Vatican with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV . During the meeting, the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine handed over to the pontiff lists of Ukrainians held in Russian captivity and invited them to Ukraine. This was reported by the website of the UGCC.
The meeting took place on May 15 in the library of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
Svyatoslav thanked the Pope for his affection for Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian people have already characterized you as the pope of peace," he said.
In response, Leo XIV assured that he would continue to support the Ukrainians.
"I am with the Ukrainian people. The Holy See will continue to promote and create all the necessary conditions for dialogue and accompany the Ukrainian people in this terrible time in history," he said.
The head of the UGCC handed over to the Pope lists of Ukrainians held in Russian captivity and missing.
As Svyatoslav explained, he received this data from relatives of prisoners of war and missing persons with a request to transfer it to the Vatican.
"When the Russian side receives these lists from the Vatican, we have evidence that the attitude towards these prisoners is improving," he said.
The head of the UGCC also invited Leo XIV to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine.
"When Saint Pope John Paul II came to us, Ukrainians believed that communism would never return to our land. Today we believe that the Pope's arrival will help stop the war in Ukraine," he said.
- On May 11, the new Pope called the war against Ukraine a "true imperialist invasion" and in his prayer mentioned the "dear Ukrainian people."
- On May 13, La Repubblica reported that the new Pope Leo XIV may visit Ukraine after an official invitation from Volodymyr Zelensky.
- On May 14, Leo XIV offered his mediation to the warring countries of the world.