Pope Leo XIV Meets with Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY, 16 May 2025: Pope Leo XIV met His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in a private audience on Thursday morning at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The meeting was held to express gratitude for the Pope’s recent appeal for peace and support for Ukraine.

The meeting occurred just days after Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Regina Coeli address on Sunday, 11 May. In his message, the pope had called for an “authentic, just, and lasting peace” in Ukraine, Gaza, and along the India-Pakistan border. He had also appealed for the release of all prisoners and the safe return of children taken from their families amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

According to a statement from the Greek Catholic Secretariat, the Pope’s appeal for peace was “a true spiritual balm for the wounded soul of the Ukrainian people”.

At the end of the meeting, Archbishop Shevchuk presented the Pope with a painting titled “Requiem Prayer”. Created by artist Bohdan Pylypiv, the father of a Ukrainian soldier killed in the conflict, the artwork commemorates the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

The private audience underscores Pope Leo XIV’s early commitment to addressing global conflicts and his pastoral concern for those suffering from war.

Courtesy: Vatican News