Vatican

Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica March 25, the Vatican said.

At the behest of Pope Francis, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, arrived in Poland March 7 to offer encouragement and material help to Ukrainian refugees and the volunteers assisting them. Two days later, he crossed the border into Ukraine.

In a telephone call with Russia’s foreign minister, the Vatican secretary of state “conveyed Pope Francis’ deep concern about the ongoing war in Ukraine,” the Vatican said.

Pope Francis said the Vatican “is ready to do everything to put itself at the service of peace” in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Kyiv-Halych and the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See said they had received information that Russia planned airstrikes on the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv.