Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
The pope said he was praying to God to grant the world the "miracle of peace."
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include comments from a 2022 interview, given while Robert Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. With the announcement that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and leader of the Catholic Church, Ukrainians are wondering what the surprise
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
The ruling comes from a case involving a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religious group whose doctrine forbids any form of military service.
Editor's Note: The story was updated to reflect that the conclave had begun on May 7. On Wednesday, Cardinals opened the historic conclave in the Vatican to choose the next head of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, was lauded by
President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska have arrived in Rome to attend Pope Francis's funeral, RBK-Ukraine reported on April 26, citing Zelensky's spokesperson.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has formally charged 14 high-ranking metropolitans and archbishops of the Russian Orthodox Church for their involvement in the illegal seizure of Ukrainian churches in Russian-occupied territories, the agency announced on April 22.
President Volodymyr Zelensky might attend Pope Francis's funeral in the Vatican, as the preparations for the ceremony are underway, European Pravda reported on April 22, citing its source.
Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at 88, leaves behind a legacy as vast and varied as his global influence. Yet in Ukraine, his track record is far from positive. For many Ukrainians, the Pope’s legacy is shaped by his repeated downplaying of the gravity of Ukraine’
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, at the age of 88, in his residence in Vatican City, the Vatican news service reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has lauded Ukraine's "resilience, compassion, and humanity" in his Easter address on April 20, adding the country's faith has "not faded over 1,152 days of full-scale war."
When U.S. President Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine last month, the man described as his "spiritual advisor," Pastor Mark Burns, backed the decision. This week, Burns is urging him to send Kyiv more tanks, fighter jets, and air defense. "I now believe that supporting Ukraine is America
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on April 10 again denounced the religious persecution carried out by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories, accusing Moscow of killing dozens of clergy members and damaging hundreds of churches.
"The war in Ukraine is bigger than Democrats or Republicans, the Left or the Right. Whether you dislike President Trump or President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, real people are dying here," Pastor Mark Burns said.
When Oleg Rostovtsev hovered between life and death after a serious operation last April, he asked friends and family to do something that, until recently, had been impossible — to pray for him by reading the Tehillim, the Hebrew Book of Psalms, in Ukrainian. Hebrew or Ukrainian, he requested, just not
The pope has earned a controversial reputation in Ukraine with his earlier remarks that relativized the responsibility of Russia’s war, encouraging Ukrainians to have the "courage" to negotiate for peace.
For a decade, the world has seen how Russia has scarred Ukraine’s landscape with tens of thousands of bombs and missiles. The spiritual wounds — and awakenings — experienced by millions of Ukrainians are less visible. Almost a third of Ukrainians say their religious faith has grown since the war broke
"Let us continue to pray for peace, in tormented Ukraine, in the Middle East — Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, and now Syria — in Myanmar, in Sudan, and wherever people suffer from war and violence," Pope Francis said on Dec. 8.
During a meeting that lasted 35 minutes, the pope reportedly presented Ukraine's head of state with a bronze bas-relief with a flower and an inscription, "Peace is a fragile flower."
When inaugurated, Ukraine-born Bishop Mykola Bychok will be one of the youngest members of the College and the only cardinal from the country.
On Thursday, a memorial service was held in Kyiv for Anton Samborskyi, the adopted son of Ukraine's Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman, who was killed in combat.
Metropolitan Kliment of Crimea and Simferopol of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, who currently serves in the Armed Forces, was beaten up by unknown assailants in Kyiv on Sept. 10, a church official confirmed for Suspilne.
Jewish pilgrims should refrain from visiting Uman for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, Cherkasy Oblast Governor Ihor Taburets warned on Sept. 10.
"They are barbarians," 80-year-old Mustafa Dzhemilev tells the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 2, as he assesses the damage caused to the Islamic Cultural Center in Kyiv by a Russian missile attack in the early hours of the morning. "If they targeted a children's hospital, why wouldn’t they destroy a
Pope Francis criticized on Aug. 25 Ukraine's move to potentially ban the activities of Russian-affiliated religious organizations amid Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, saying that "churches are not to be touched."
The legislation could effectively prohibit the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), which is legally subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Editor's note: The article was expanded with comments by religious scholar Oleksandr Brodetskyi. Ukraine's parliament passed on Aug. 20 a much-debated bill banning activities of religious organizations with ties to Russia, a country whose armies are currently occupying large swathes of Ukraine's land. The legislation – falsely spun by pro-Kremlin actors
The Ukrainian parliament on Aug. 20 passed a bill banning activities of religious organizations connected to Russia.
Lawmakers from several opposition parties – Holos (Voice), European Solidarity, and Batkivshchyna – blocked Ukraine's parliament rostrum on July 23 following the governing party's decision to not bring the bill on banning the Russian-linked church to the floor.
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