(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 05.18.2025).- After the Mass at the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV received Ukrainian President Zelensky in a private audience. He was one of only two leaders received (the other was Peruvian President Dina Boluarte).
After the audience, Zelensky said on social networks: “After the inauguration Mass, we had a meeting with Pope Leo XIV. We are grateful to His Holiness for the audience. For millions of people around the world, the Pontiff is a symbol of hope for peace. The authority and voice of the Holy See can play an important role in bringing this war to an end. We thank the Vatican for its willingness to serve as a platform for direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. We are ready for dialogue in any format for the sake of tangible results. We appreciate the support for Ukraine and the clear voice in defense of a just and lasting peace”.
Just last May 12 it was made public that the Pope and Zelensky had a telephone conversation in which the Ukrainian president invited the Pope to visit the country.
Zelensky also added on social networks: “For many nations, the image of a mother and child is a symbol of life that must be protected. Today, we presented Pope Leo XIV with a special icon – the Holy Mother with the Infant, painted on a fragment of a crate used to store heavy artillery munitions, brought from near Izyum. This icon speaks of our children. Of those who have suffered from the war, who were deliberately abducted and deported by Russia, and who are very much awaited at home – in Ukraine. We pray for the lives of all our deported children and hope for the Vatican’s support in this matter, so that all of them, both the children and Ukrainian prisoners, can return home”.
Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.
The post Pope Leo XIV’s audience with the Ukrainian president appeared first on ZENIT – English.