(OSV News): Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, are hopeful that Pope Leo XIV will visit Ukraine despite no firm indication from the Vatican that a visit is in the works.
In a statement released following a July 20 meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Zelenskyy said he was “looking forward to Pope Leo’s visit” and that such a papal trip “could be a truly historic moment—above all, a moment of support.”
Yurash, noted on July 21 that although there has been no confirmation from the Vatican that a trip is in the works, “a visit is possible.”
He also said that both Pope Leo and Archbishop Gallagher have received invitations from the president, “from the highest representatives of the state, and hundreds of invitations from any other institutions, [including] Church institutions.”
Yurash said, “There is no doubt that we would be very happy to have the Holy Father in Ukraine.”
Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had expressed his desire to visit Ukraine. However, in a 2023 interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nación, the late pontiff said he would only visit on the condition that he could also travel to Moscow.
There is no doubt that we would be very happy to have the Holy Father in Ukraine
Andrii Yurash
“I will go to both places or to neither,” Pope Francis said.
Archbishop Gallagher’s meeting with Zelenskyy capped a July 17-21 visit as Pope Leo’s envoy to celebrations commemorating the 35th anniversary of the renewal of structures of the Latin-rite Church in Ukraine.
According to Vatican News, the archbishop visited St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv on July 18, which was struck by a Russian missile in 2024 and is still undergoing renovations.
Leading the faithful in a prayer for peace, Archbishop Gallagher encouraged St. Nicholas’ parishioners, who are Roman Catholic, noting that in order to achieve peace, “one important quality is needed, and I already see it in you: the virtue of perseverance.”
He said, “You have persevered in your daily lives, in your love for your country, and in your constant prayers for peace. Perseverance is also a defining characteristic of our Catholic community. You have remained steadfast as a Eucharistic and prayerful community, and I can already see the fruits of that perseverance.”
Outside the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv on July 19, the Vatican foreign minister celebrated the country’s first outdoor Mass since the full-scale war began, Vatican News reported.
Archbishop Gallagher witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by a barrage of 41 Russian ballistic missiles on Kyiv July 19
Archbishop Gallagher witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by a barrage of 41 Russian ballistic missiles on Kyiv July 19, killing one person and wounding 16, according to Reuters.
The Russian attack struck the neighbourhood where the apostolic nunciature is located and where Archbishop Gallagher and a Vatican delegation were staying. The attack forced the nunciature’s residents to spend the night at a shelter, Vatican News reported.
Yurash said, “Thank God not too many people were killed; only one person was killed and several were injured. But it was a very intensive attack on the Ukrainian capital,” he said.
The Ukrainian ambassador said the visit marked Archbishop Gallagher’s 10th time meeting with Zelenskyy and indicated that the relationship between Ukraine and the Vatican “is very stable.”
According to the Ukrainian president’s office, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the Vatican for its help in negotiating the repatriation of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia.
“Ukraine hopes to accelerate the return of civilians, especially children whom Russia is illegally holding in captivity,” according to the statement.
Zelenskyy also thanked the Vatican for “its readiness to host a meeting at the leaders’ level and to continue making every effort to help make it happen.”
