The institutional meetings held by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin with Ukrainian leaders culminated on July 23 in Kyiv with the meeting between the Cardinal Secretary of State and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following the meeting, in a post on X, the Secretariat of State announced that the Cardinal reaffirmed “the Pope’s solidarity and the commitment to finding a just and lasting peace for war-torn Ukraine.”
Zelensky had already received a papal envoy in June last year. Pope Francis had asked the Cardinal of Bologna and head of the Italian bishops, Matteo Zuppi, to visit the war-torn nation and meet with the Ukrainian President.
Over the years, Zelensky has had several opportunities to speak with the Pope. The last occasion was on June 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in southern Italy. Prior to that, on December 28, 2023, Zelensky reported on his X account about a phone conversation he had with Pope Francis for Christmas greetings. On that occasion, he wrote, the emphasis was on a “just peace for all of us” and the Vatican’s appreciation for the presidential peace plan.