Pope Francis has been invited to visit the nation of Ukraine by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, the Major Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and Ukraine’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Andriy Yurash.
While flying to Rome after his Apostolic Visit to the island nation of Malta recently, the Pope was asked by a reporter if he is considering these invitations. He replied, “Yes, it is on the table,” without providing any other details.
This would not be the first time Pope Francis travels to an active war zone. In November 2015, he led a 26-hour visit under heavy security to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. He delivered a message of peace and reconciliation between Muslims and Christians. “Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself,” pronounced the Holy Father. He visited a besieged mosque where Muslims were encircled by Christian militias, and also opened the very first Jubilee Door of the Year of Mercy.
Pope Francis is unafraid to do whatever is necessary to bring peace.
In 2019 he fell to the ground and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s past rival leaders. He urged them to maintain the peace agreement that was signed to end a civil war that left 400,000 dead.
Days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Pope traveled to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to express his concern over the conflict personally to the Ambassador.
What a blessing it will be for the Ukrainian people to welcome Pope Francis in the mist of their suffering. It will be a visible reminder that when life is at its darkest, Christ remains close and present.
Picture is not mine. Used with permission from here.
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