Pope Francis and the prime minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal met for 30 minutes in the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
The Vatican did not explicitly mention tensions with Russia in Crimea and Donbass, but did comment on “the dramatic situation in eastern Ukraine,” expressing hope for “a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
To commemorate the visit, the prime minister gave Pope Francis this copy of the monument in Kiev memorializing the Holodomor, the genocide of the Ukrainians, whom the Soviets let starve to death in the first half of the 20th century.
Pope Francis gave the prime minister this bronze relief on solidarity with the inscription, “Let's fill our hands with other hands.”
He also gave him his most important papal documents and his last message for peace.
I signed it today.
Before saying goodbye, the pope assured the prime minister of his prayers.
“When I pray, I have the icon of Stanislav in front of me. It reminds me of Ukraine.”
When Pope Francis visited the Greek Catholic community of Ukraine in Rome two years ago, he told them that he had a devotion that kept him very close to them.
POPE FRANCIS
Every night before going to sleep, I kiss Our Lady of Tenderness that your major archbishop gave me. And I greet her in the morning too. So you could say I begin and end my day in Ukrainian.
Pope Francis has dedicated many messages and official meetings to the situation in Ukraine.
In the past years he has welcomed two of the country's presidents and two of its prime ministers to the Vatican.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014, Pope Francis has consistently advocated for peace in his important addresses on Christmas and Easter.
And though the situation hasn't improved very much, he at least continues to strive to not let the war be forgotten.
Javier Romero
