Head of UGCC invites Pope to visit Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV has held a meeting with the head of the UGCC, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, at the Vatican. During the audience, Sviatoslav Shevchuk again invited the Pope to visit Ukraine.

According to Vatican News, the head of the UGCC expressed deep gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his “unwavering closeness to the Ukrainian people, for the solidarity and support given to Ukraine, as well as for the diplomatic efforts of the Holy See on the way to a just and lasting peace.” It is noted that shortly before this meeting, Pope Leo XIV, through the Apostolic Eleemosynary, organized the delivery of 80 electric generators for the population suffering from harsh winter conditions in the war-torn country.

Special attention during the audience was paid to the current life of the UGCC and the “global dimension” of its mission. Shevchuk emphasized that while the UGCC is “a local Church rooted in the Kyiv Christian tradition,” it simultaneously represents a global reality present on every continent. “Our local Church of Kyivan Christianity is of Ukrainian origin, ” he said, ” but it is a Church not only for Ukrainians. It is open for the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations precisely because of its full and visible communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter.”

At the end of the audience, Sviatoslav Shevchuk once again invited the Pope to visit Ukraine and presented him with a ceramic sculpture by Italian artist and cardiologist Luciano Capriotti entitled “Dove of Peace in Time of War”. The work of art depicts a fragile pigeon struck by a piece of metal shrapnel from a Russian missile launched at Kharkiv. Although the bird is wounded and suffering, it remains alive. “This is a powerful symbol of modern Ukraine – wounded but alive,” Shevchuk said. The head of the UGCC also asked the Pope to bless the Ukrainian people, to which Pope Leo XIV assured him of his constant prayers for Ukraine.

We shall remind you that earlier, as part of his working visit to Rome, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. The central topic of the talks was an invitation to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine, which, according to Stefanchuk, would be a powerful sign of solidarity and spiritual support for the Ukrainian people in this difficult time.