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President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, following the pontiff's inauguration mass, he said in a post on social media.
"For millions of people around the world, the Pontiff is a symbol of hope for peace. The authority and voice of the Holy See can play an important role in bringing this war to an end," Zelensky said.
"We appreciate the support for Ukraine and the clear voice in defense of a just and lasting peace," he added.
The visit marked Zelensky's first in-person meeting with the new pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was elected head of the Catholic Church on May 8.
During their meeting, Zelensky presented Pope Leo with a special icon, "Mother of God with Child," painted on a fragment of a box that held heavy artillery. The icon was brought from Izium, a Kharkiv Oblast town located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the front line. A pregnant woman was killed in a Russian missile attack against Izium in February of this year.
The gift represents children "who suffered from the war, who were deliberately kidnapped and deported by Russia and who are very much awaited at home in Ukraine," Zelensky said.
The return of Ukraine's forcibly deported children was among the issues Zelensky and Pope Leo discussed during their first phone call on May 12.
During the inauguration mass, Zelensky was accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska and Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak.
The event drew 250,000 pilgrims and 156 foreign delegations, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met Pope Francis shortly before his death.
A day before the event, Rubio said that the Vatican could serve as a neutral venue for future peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
Speaking in Rome before his meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican's envoy on Ukraine, Rubio noted that "both sides would be comfortable" holding talks there.
On May 11, during his first public address, the pope said he carried the "suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine" in his heart and called for an "authentic and lasting peace."
Zelensky had his first phone call with Pope Leo XIV on May 12, describing the conversation as "warm" and "substantive." On May 18, the pontiff received a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia.
Before becoming pope, Leo XIV denounced Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine while serving as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru. In a 2022 interview, he described it as "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Tim Zadorozhnyy
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