In March, Pope Francis received an invitation to visit Ukraine from the mayor of Kyiv.
The Vatican Secretary of State said the trip is “not impossible” in April, but Pope Francis preferred to meet with Putin in Moscow.
With no response from the Kremlin however, a papal trip to Ukraine is seeming more likely.
On his in-flight press conference returning to Rome from Canada, he said:
“I would like to go to Ukraine. Let’s see now what I find when I get home. But for the time being, everything stands.”
Now according to Ukraine’s Vatican ambassador, Pope Francis plans to visit Ukraine before his trip to Kazakhstan from September 13th to 15th.
Ambassador Andrii Yurash wrote in a tweet:
“For many years and especially since [the] start of war has been waiting for [the] pope and I’ll be happy to greet him before his trip to Kazakhstan.”
“I am veryClose to🇺🇦&want toExpress thisCloseness thought myVisit to🇺🇦” -important words of PopeFrancis @Pontifex expressed during today’sMeeting withHolyFather.🇺🇦for many years&especiallySinceStart ofWar has beenWaiting forPope &’ll be happy toGreetHim beforeHisTrip toKazakhstan pic.twitter.com/livjRfzEA1
— Andrii Yurash (@AndriiYurash) August 6, 2022
🙏 Pray for peace in Ukraine!
Messenger of peace, Pope Francis is a bridge-builder.