On Sunday, July 21, 2024, the State Secretary of the Holy See visited the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the residence of the Head of the UGCC in Kyiv. In the main church of the UGCC, Cardinal Pietro Parolin was greeted by the Father and Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
This is reported by the UGCC Information Department.
The head of the UGCC thanked the State Secretary of the Holy See for his visit to Ukraine during the full-scale war. During his visit to the Patriarchal Cathedral, he told him in detail about the service of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during the war.
In the Patriarchal Cathedral, Cardinal Parolin met with the employees of the Curia and the faithful who came there to pray. In the crypt of the church, the guests learned how in the spring of 2022 the church saved the lives of the people of Kyiv by becoming a bomb shelter for them. Therefore, the State Secretary and delegation jointly prayed in front of the grave of the Servant of God Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, whose beatification process had begun in February 2024. After visiting the Patriarchal Curia and the residence of the Head of the UGCC, in the chapel everyone said the prayer “Our Father” and “Hail Mary”, calling on the Queen of Peace.
In his media comments, the Secretary of State noted that he was glad to return to this place after a visit in 2016, having witnessed “significant progress”. And even if the structure is not finished, this progress is noticeable, especially in the completion of the temple.
“The moment I am visiting Ukraine is not a joyful one, we all know the situation, but I came precisely in view of this to pray together and pray along your side… The Church must fulfill a prophetic role, following the footsteps of the prophet Elijah, to pray for peace, the starting point for which must be a great conviction that with God, all things are possible, and that even if our hopes are always finite and limited, we know that God is greater than us and our abilities,” emphasized Cardinal Parolin.
“So the message I brought from the Pope is that of closeness. The Pope has expressed it multiple times over these years. Today, on Sunday, he again mentioned the war in Ukraine, using the adjective ‘martyred’, referring to Ukraine. Then he also mentioned other wars. So since the very start, the Pope has been showing great closeness, great compassion in the pain and suffering of this people,” Cardinal Parolin said, expressing hope that his visit would add a “living presence” to the spiritual presence of the Pope, who not only “shares the pain” but also “wants to help find paths to peace.”
“I hope my presence can also make some small contribution in this sense, in particular, through the meeting with representatives from civil authorities that I will hold tomorrow. That’s the point of this visit, and I’m really, really glad. His Beatitude told me that he is happy to welcome me, but I am also really happy to be here and share this very important moment with you,” concluded the Secretary of State of the Holy See.
It should be added that Cardinal Parolin arrived at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv from Berdychiv, where, as Papal Legate, he served the final Holy Mass of the national pilgrimage of Latin rite Catholics, co-served by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. Prior to that, the State Secretary of the Holy See, as part of his visit to Ukraine, visited Lviv and Odesa, where he visited the parish of St. Archangel Michael (UGCC).
