Vatican weighing papal trip to Ukraine
The Vatican will study the conditions needed for a possible trip by Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said following a six-day pastoral and diplomatic mission to the war-torn country.
Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, said the possibility of a papal visit was among the questions he heard most frequently during his stay.
“Almost everyone I met asked me that question. My answer is very simple. The Holy Father takes this invitation very seriously,” Gallagher told Vatican Media in Kraków, Poland, before returning to Rome.
“For our part, we will continue to study the conditions necessary to determine the right time and the most appropriate way for such a visit to bear the greatest possible fruit for Ukraine and for peace in the world,” he said.
Gallagher spent six days in Ukraine, which has been at war since 2014 and has endured Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022. He held political, institutional, and Church meetings and took part in several pastoral events.
He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on July 20. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the Holy See’s…
