Cardinal Parolin: Holy See committed to just peace in Ukraine

By Mariusz Krawiec and Lisa Zengarini

Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday, kicking off a six-day visit, his first to the war-torn country since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022.

The Vatican Secretary of State has been appointed as Pope Francis’ Pontifical Legate for the concluding celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Latin Rite Catholics to the Marian Shrine of Berdychiv, west of Kyiv. He will preside over the celebration there on Sunday, 21 July.

Upon his arrival on Friday afternoon, Cardinal Parolin accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, made a brief stop at the Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv. There he was welcomed by Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki along with the Auxiliary Bishops Edward Kava and Leon Maly. Bishop Volodymyr Hrutsa, Auxiliary Bishop of the Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv, also attended the meeting. Also present were the Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi, and the head of the Lviv regional administration Maksym Kozytskyi

Praying  for  peace

Speaking to Vatican News after this first meeting, Cardinal Parolin explained that the main reason for his mission is the celebration at the Marian Shrine of Berdychiv which is to be elevated to Minor Basilica at the request of the Ukrainian Latin bishops.

The shrine is located in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province), west of Kyiv, and is a pilgrimage destination for Catholic faithful from all over Ukraine and other countries. In the past two years, pilgrims have visited the site particularly to seek Mary's intercession for peace.

Prayer for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Ukraine will again be the focus of Sunday’s celebration, said Cardinal Parolin: “It will be a choral prayer raised to the Mother of God, so that she may finally grant peace to this country, which the Holy Father has always defined as ‘martyred’, ‘the martyred Ukraine’.”

The Vatican Secretary of State further explained that the special occasion would also offer him the opportunity to meet Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he would most likely discuss the prospects for peace with Russia.

The gift he is bringing to Ukraine, Cardinal Parolin remarked, is, therefore, Pope Francis’ ongoing closeness to the suffering Ukrainian people: "This visit is yet another expression of the Holy Father’s concern for Ukraine and of his great hopes for peace,” he said, recalling that from the very beginning of the Russian invasion Pope Francis has tried to find ways to reach an end  to the war, that is, “what has recently been called a just peace.”

“We talked about this at the recent Peace Summit in Bürgenstock [in Switzerland, ed.], Cardinal Parolin recalled.  “Therefore, closeness, prayer and hope that ways may be found to end this conflict as soon as possible".

Commitment for a just peace

On behalf of Pope Francis and the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin once again expressed his concern for the situation in Ukraine and reiterated his commitment "to find a solution to attain this just peace.”

"So far,” he explained, “starting from Cardinal Zuppi’s visit  to Kyiv and then to Moscow,  it has seemed to us that humanitarian initiatives are the way forward to bring about this (just) peace.”

“After all,” Cardinal Parolin added, “this idea is seemingly shared by the authorities in Kyiv, because in Switzerland they also spoke about three issues: first of all, nuclear weapons and avoiding an escalation; then the issue of the freedom of movement of goods and, last but not least, the humanitarian issue. So, the Holy See has focused on this also at the request of the Government itself, but in view of taking steps that can truly lead to a just peace".