In the Vatican, the Pope held a service with the participation of the UGCC and mentioned the victims of the war.
Pope Leo XIV expressed support for the Ukrainian people during a service in the Vatican attended by believers of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The head of the Catholic Church mentioned the victims and prisoners, but did not call Russia an aggressor.
The Pope announced this on the social network X.
The Pontiff personally met with the Ukrainians who arrived in the Vatican on the occasion of the UGCC anniversary. During his speech, the Pope addressed them with words of support: “Peace be with you all!”
On social media, Pope Leo XIV wrote that he shared the pain of the Ukrainian people for those killed and held captive. He emphasized that the faith of Ukrainians is currently undergoing severe trials.
“To believe does not mean to have all the answers, but to trust that God is with us and gives us His grace, that He will say the last word and that life will conquer death,” the Pope wrote.
However, in his speech and statement on social media, the pontiff refrained from directly identifying Russia as an aggressor country, which sparked discussions among the Ukrainian audience.
Let us recall that on May 8, the conclave of cardinals in the Vatican elected a new Pope – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV. This is the first Pope in history to come from the United States of America, and only the second representative of the New World on the papal throne after Francis.
Robert Prevost was born on September 14, 1955 in Chicago, USA, to a Frenchman, Louis Marius Prevost, and an Italian woman, Mildred Martinez.
The new pontiff is the first in a century to take the name Leo. The last was Leo XIII, whose pontificate lasted 25 years and ended in 1903. This is one of the longest reigns in the history of the Catholic Church. Leo XIII is remembered as a defender of social justice and a sympathizer of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV, 69, speaks several languages: English (native), Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese. He also reads Latin and German.
