Meeting between Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Sviatoslav Shevchuk in Ukraine

The trip of the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, continues through the “martyred Ukraine”; This July 22 he met with the Patriarch of the country, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

After visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Berdychiv on Sunday, July 21, the cardinal met today with Sviatoslav Shevchuk at the headquarters of the major archbishopric.

From there, as he pointed out Vatican Mediathe Secretary of State called for a “great prayer for peace.”

He also reiterated the closeness of Pope Francis to the country at war and stressed that the Pontiff feels the pain and “suffering of this people.”

In the framework of his meeting with the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Parolin also pointed out that the Church must have “a prophetic role.”

For this reason, he urged “a great prayer for peace, starting from the conviction that everything is possible with God and that, although our hopes are always finite and limited, we know that God is greater than ourselves, than our hearts. and that our possibilities.”

He also highlighted the progress made in the structure of the archbishopric since his last visit in 2016, despite the consequences of the war that has plagued the country since February 2022.

“Considerable progress has been made and in many places, especially the Church, they have moved forward. “I am happy to see these things,” said Cardinal Parolin.

The Secretary of State will remain in the country invaded by the Russian army until Wednesday, July 24, visiting cities such as kyiv and Odessa.

The objective of this trip is to bring the Holy Father’s closeness and transmit his hope of finding the necessary ways for peace.

It should be noted that during yesterday’s Angelus prayer, Pope Francis expressed his desire that the Paris Olympic Games be an occasion for peace and a truce in the face of wars in the world.