Ukraine: Cardinal Parolin visits bombed Children’s Hospital
By Svitlana Dukhovych and Alessandro De Carolis
It is devastating to witness the ruins of a place where life begins, now turned into a scene of death. On July 8, a Russian missile strike hit the Okhmatdyt Ukrainian Pediatric Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were in the hospital. The toll was two dead, including a doctor, and 50 injured, eight of whom were minors. Additionally, 94 children were transferred to other medical facilities in Kyiv. The missile damaged the surgical, oncology, and intensive care units, as well as Ukraine's only laboratory for blood and cancer diseases. The toxicology building and the hospital’s trauma unit were also gutted.
Today, July 23, Cardinal Pietro Parolin visited the facility, the largest pediatric hospital in Ukraine, which has been striving to reactivate its services due to the uniqueness of its work. He was welcomed by Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko and the hospital's general director, Volodymyr Zhovnir, who discussed the hospital's activities and the destruction caused by the bombing. Outside, the Cardinal stopped to view places where only fragments of walls remained from the destroyed wards. Inside, he greeted and comforted the hospitalized children, exchanged words with some, offered encouragement to their parents, thanked the doctors and medical staff, and discussed cooperation with the Vatican’s Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital with the hospital's management.
Visit to St. Sophia Cathedral
From the hospital, Cardinal Parolin moved to the St. Sophia Museum Complex in Kyiv, and was welcomed by its general director, Nelia Kukovalska. The cathedral, built starting in 1037 with its gold and green domes, is a millennial symbol of the Ukrainian capital and the country’s unity. Over the centuries, it has endured attacks, plundering, and fires. The state-managed museum complex hosts religious events, such as interreligious prayers on major state holidays. The ongoing conflict led UNESCO last September to include St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and the medieval center of Lviv to its list of endangered World Heritage Sites. The Secretary of State visited the cathedral and the historical exhibition. In front of the majestic mosaic of the Praying Madonna, he suggested offering a prayer to the Virgin. The Vatican delegation sang the Marian hymn "Salve Regina" in Latin. At the end of the visit, the Cardinal signed the guest book and wrote a dedication.
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