Media reports about Pope Francis’ possible visit to Ukraine have raised hopes that the Holy Father may accept an invitation to visit the war-torn country in 2025.
According to a report by Ukrainska PravdaMajor Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in a recent interview that, while no visit was confirmed, “Pope Francis sometimes likes to make surprises.”
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The prospect of a papal visit to Ukraine has been discussed several times since the full-scale invasion of Russia began.
In June 2022, addressing children during the “Children’s Train” initiative in Rome, Pope Francis explained his approach about this visit: “I would like to go to Ukraine; “I just have to wait for the moment to do it, you know, because it’s not easy to make a decision that can do more harm to everyone than good.”
The new speculation about a possible visit follows the Pope’s December 25 Christmas message in which he specifically mentioned the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, calling for its end and negotiations for a just peace.
“Let the guns remain silent in the martyred Ukraine,” the Pope exhorted on Christmas Day. “Let there be the audacity to open the door to negotiations and gestures of dialogue and encounter.”
Bishop Shevchuk has long advocated a papal visit to Ukraine.
In April 2022, following comments by Pope Francis during a press conference on the return flight from Malta, the Ukrainian Catholic leader said he hoped the Pope would visit kyiv “as soon as possible.”
On that occasion, Bishop Shevchuk noted that the local Catholic Church and government officials were “working to ensure that the Holy Father’s visit to Ukraine takes place.”
In his last interview, the leader of the Ukrainian Church expressed his hope that there will be peace next year. “We enter this new year with hope, hoping that a just peace will finally prevail in Ukraine,” he said.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Anian Christoph Wimmer
Anian Christoph Wimmer, a multilingual Australian with Bavarian roots, is the editor-in-chief of CNA Deutsch. He held senior positions at Australia’s SBS and was editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. Graduated in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer was on the jury for the Catholic Media Award of the German Bishops’ Conference and was an honorary researcher in Communications at the University of Melbourne. He has served on the Board of Directors of Caritas in Munich.