Pope meets Zelensky, recalls ‘martyred Ukraine’
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Pope Leo delivering a prayer in St Peter’s Square on May 18.
PHOTO: AFP
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VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo XIV held his first private audience as Catholic leader on May 18 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after highlighting the hopes for peace for a “martyred Ukraine”.
Mr Zelensky attended on the morning of May 18 the first US pope’s inauguration mass US Vice-President J.D. Vance
The politicians were among hundreds of dignitaries and an estimated 200,000 people who attended the ceremony in St Peter’s Square, 10 days after Pope Leo was elected head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics
“The martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen,” the Pope said in a prayer after the mass.
Mr Zelensky lined up to shake hands with Pope Leo afterwards, and then he and his wife joined the pontiff for a private audience.
In a video published by the Vatican, the soft-spoken Leo told the Ukrainian leader: “Nice to see you again.”
When they were all seated, he apologised for making the couple wait.
As is customary, they also exchanged gifts.
Pope Leo only had two private audiences on May 18.
The other was with President Dina Boluarte of Peru, a country where the pontiff worked as a missionary for two decades and of which he also has citizenship.
Special words
Earlier, in his homily, Pope Leo said he wanted the Church to be a “leaven for a reconciled world”, calling for peace.
In response, Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram: “We are grateful for the special words spoken today at the solemn mass about the need for a just peace and for the attention given to Ukraine and our people.
“Every nation deserves to live in peace and security.”
He offered his congratulations to the Pope “on the beginning of such a special mission. May the prayers for a just peace and a dignified life for all people be heard”.
As the dignitaries gathered for the start of the mass, Mr Zelensky shook hands with Mr Vance, whom he had not seen since their disastrous White House encounter on Feb 28.
In his Regina Coeli prayer at the end of the mass, Pope Leo also noted that “in Gaza, children, families and elderly survivors are reduced to hunger”.
And he recalled how “in Myanmar, new hostilities have destroyed innocent young lives”. AFP
