Head of the UGCC in the 167th Week of the War: Meeting Between the U.S. President and President Zelensky — A Moving Encounter at the Tomb of St. Peter the Apostle
We witnessed how Rome — particularly the tomb of the Apostle Peter — became the capital of the world that day, with leaders of various countries and hundreds of thousands of people gathering there. This was stated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in the 167th week of the great and tragic war that the Russian aggressor is waging against the peaceful and independent Ukrainian state.
As the Primate noted, this week will likely go down in history as a week of significant events, a week in which joy intertwined with sorrow.
This week was marked by a historic event: “On April 21, our dear Pope Francis passed away. Therefore, we spent this week in prayer for his eternal rest, remembering him as a Pope of mercy and hope.”
“His Holiness Pope Francis,” said the Head of the Church, “will go down in history as the Pope who prayed for Ukraine, who, as Christ’s vicar on earth and successor to the Apostle Peter, did everything in his power to stop this war. He consistently emphasized that whenever humanity starts a war, it always loses, because after every war, the world ends up worse than it was before. We entrust Pope Francis to God’s infinite mercy.”
The spiritual leader said that he was honored to lead the delegation of our Church at the Pope’s funeral: “I was very glad to welcome the delegation from Ukraine, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. We stood together with the Universal Church, bidding farewell to our father.”
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Video-message of the Head of the UGCC on the 167th Week of Full-Scale War, April 27, 2025
“The funeral of Pope Francis,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav added, “demonstrated the importance not only of the ministry of the successor of the Apostle Peter but also of the witness borne by the Universal Church amid the current circumstances of human life.”
As the Head of the Church noted, it was striking to see how the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took place in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a moving encounter at the tomb of the Apostle Peter. “We pray that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Christ, will inspire the minds and hearts of contemporary people and leaders of nations with the spirit of peace,” he added.
At the same time, His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on all the faithful and people of goodwill to pray for the election of the new Pope.
The UGCC Department for Information
