Ukraine remains hopeful for a papal visit, ambassador says

(OSV News) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government’s representative to the Holy See are hopeful that Pope Leo XIV will visit Ukraine despite no firm indication from the Vatican that a visit is in the works.

In a statement released following a July 20 meeting with Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for relations with states and international organizations, President Zelenskyy said he was “looking forward to Pope Leo’s visit” and that such a papal trip “could be a truly historic moment — above all, a moment of support.”

Speaking with OSV News July 21, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, noted that although there has been no confirmation from the Vatican that a trip is in the works, “a visit is possible.”

He also said that both Pope Leo and Archbishop Gallagher have received invitations from the president, “from the highest representatives of the state, and hundreds of invitations from any other institutions, (including) Church institutions.”

“There is no doubt that we would be very happy to have the Holy Father in Ukraine,” Yurash told OSV News.

Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had expressed his desire to visit Ukraine. However, in a 2023 interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nación, the late pontiff said he would only visit on the condition that he could also travel to Moscow.

“I will go to both places or to neither,” Pope Francis said.

Archbishop Gallagher’s meeting with Zelenskyy capped a five-day visit July 17-21 as Pope Leo’s envoy to celebrations commemorating the 35th anniversary of the renewal of structures of the Latin-rite Church in Ukraine.

According to Vatican News, the archbishop visited St. Nicholas Church in Kyiv July 18, which was struck by a Russian missile in 2024 and is still undergoing renovations.

Leading the faithful in a prayer for peace, Archbishop Gallagher encouraged St. Nicholas’ parishioners, who are Roman Catholic, noting that in order to achieve peace, “one important quality is needed, and I already see it in you: the virtue of perseverance.”

“You have persevered in your daily lives, in your love for your country, and in your constant prayers for peace. Perseverance is also a defining characteristic of our Catholic community. You have remained steadfast as a Eucharistic and prayerful community, and I can already see the fruits of that perseverance,” he said.

Presiding outside the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv July 19, the Vatican foreign minister celebrated the country’s first outdoor Mass since the full-scale war began, Vatican News reported.

An estimated 3,000 people attended the Mass at one of the Ukrainian Catholic Church’s holiest sites, where Archbishop Gallagher led the faithful in praying for peace in the country.

The Vatican official witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by the war during his visit when Russia launched a barrage of 41 ballistic missiles on Kyiv July 19, killing one person and wounding 16, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Russian attack struck the neighborhood where the apostolic nunciature is located and where Archbishop Gallagher and a Vatican delegation were staying. The attack forced the nunciature’s residents to spend the night at a shelter, Vatican News reported.

Yurash told OSV News that although it was the “most intense attack on Kyiv by missiles in many months,” he was grateful that the number of casualties was low.

“Thank God not too many people were killed; only one person was killed and several were injured. But it was a very intensive attack on the Ukrainian capital,” he said.

The Ukrainian ambassador said the visit marked Archbishop Gallagher’s 10th time meeting with Zelenskyy and indicated that the relationship between Ukraine and the Vatican “is very stable.”

“Relations are at a level of complete understanding and strategic partnership between” the Holy See and Ukraine, Yurash said. “The Holy See completely supports Ukraine in this terrible situation that we have right now” and “on our path (to joining) the European Union.”

According to the Ukrainian president’s office, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the Vatican for its help in negotiating the repatriation of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia.

“Ukraine hopes to accelerate the return of civilians, especially children whom Russia is illegally holding in captivity,” according to the statement.

Zelenskyy also thanked the Vatican for “its readiness to host a meeting at the leaders’ level and to continue making every effort to help make it happen.”

Yurash told OSV News that the idea for such a meeting is “nothing new” and that since his election, Pope Leo has “confirmed that the Holy See is always ready to offer any opportunity to organize this kind of meeting and the possibility to speak between two sides.”

“Even President (Donald) Trump said that he supports possible negotiations here in the Vatican,” Yurash said. “And we confirmed this also at least 10 or more times from the Ukrainian side. But it was never accepted or positively responded to by the Russian side. It’s understandable.”

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