Although this meeting was not on his official agenda, Pope Francis wanted to make time to meet with a group of 15 young Ukrainians on pilgrimage to WYD in Lisbon.
A young girl gave the Pope a handwritten letter in Spanish, telling him about her father, a lawyer who had to leave his family to go fight in the war.
She was moved to tears as she watched Pope Francis read the letter. In it, she asked him for prayers for her father and for Ukraine.
But this was not the only gift Pope Francis received. Minutes before, the group gave him a typical Ukrainian bread that everyone in the room shared.
The young people were accompanied by Denys Kolada, the Ukrainian government's consultant for Dialogue with Religious Organizations.
Kolada presented the Pope with a bouquet of wheat, one of the great symbols of the country, and thanked him for speaking about the grain crisis in Ukraine at his last Angelus before leaving for Lisbon.
It's from our lands. We wanted to give this to Your Holiness with gratitude for remembering the situation just a few days ago because there really is a fear that we are dying not only from bombs but also from starvation.
At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis recorded a video imparting his blessing to all young Ukrainians.
CA
TR: KG
