Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine

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 the invitation of His Holiness 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.

As Interfax-Ukraine reports, Ruslan Stefanchuk published information about the meeting with the Pontiff on his Facebook page on December 12, 2025. The speaker of the Rada emphasized that he conveyed to the Pope words of deep gratitude on behalf of Ukrainian communities.

“Transmitted to His Holiness words of gratitude from Ukrainian communities and invited to make an Apostolic visit to Ukraine. Coming to our country would be a strong sign of solidarity and spiritual support for millions of Ukrainians in difficult times, ” Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

Earlier, Pope Leo XIV held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, which centered on achieving peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war. During an impromptu press conference in Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff also touched on the topics of future European security, peace initiatives and expressed cautious optimism about a possible visit to Kiev, while voicing concern about some aspects of US President Donald Trump’s plans.