Pope welcomes Ukrainian President Zelensky to Vatican

Image Vatican Media

Source: Vatican Media

Pope Francis welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Vatican for the third time on Friday. During their 35 minute long meeting the Holy Father particularly expressed his concern at the suffering of Ukrainian children - so many of whom have lost the ability to smile.

This was their fourth encounter, after a bilateral meeting on June 14 on the sidelines of the G7 in the Puglia region of Italy and meetings in the Vatican on May 13, 2023, and, prior to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 8, 2020.

According to a statement issued by the Holy See Press Office, the talks in the Secretariat of State were devoted "to the state of the war and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine," as well as "the ways that could put an end to it, leading to a just and stable peace in the country."

The statement also said: "a number of issues concerning religious life in the country were also examined."

Afterwards, President Zelensky met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

After the meeting, in a post on X, Pope Francis wrote: "All nations have the right to exist in peace and security. Their territories must not be attacked, and their sovereignty" must be respected and guaranteed through peace and dialogue. War and hatred bring only death and destruction for everyone."

During the meeting the two leaders exchanged gifts, and the Pope exchanged greetings with the delegation accompanying President Zelensky. The Ukrainian President gave Pope Francis an oil painting, entitled 'The Bucha Massacre. The Story of Marichka.'

Pope Francis gave President Zelensky a bronze casting of a flower engraved with the inscription: 'Peace is a fragile flower.'

The Pope also gave the President this year's Message for Peace, several papal documents, the book on the 27 March 2020 Statio Orbis, edited by the Vatican Publishing House, as well as the volume 'Persecuted for Truth, Ukrainian Greek Catholics Behind the Iron Curtain.'

Pope Francis has made countless appeals for an end to the war and the suffering since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and has offered the Holy See's availability to help in any way to work toward peace. The Holy Father has also sent delegates and envoys delivering ambulances, medical supplies, and aid to the suffering nation.