Pope to Ukrainian Greek-Catholic
Church: I am close to you
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| Pope Francis meets with the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic community at the Basilica Santa Sofia. (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis thanks the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic community
that lives in Rome and prays at the tomb of Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Stepan
Czmil.
On Sunday afternoon Pope Francis paid a visit to the
Basilica of Santa Sofia home to Rome’s Greek-Catholic Community of Ukrainians.
Three examples of the Ukrainian Church
The Pope exchanged greetings with the Major Archbishop of
Kiev, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and in his address the Ponfiff recalled the great
models of Cardinal Josyp Slipyi, Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Stepan Czmil, and
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, former Major Archbishop of the Greek-Catholic Church of
Ukraine.
The Pope also paid a visit to the crypt to pray at the tomb
of Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Czmil. He described the Bishop as "a person
who has done me so much good", explaining that when he was a boy, in
Argentina, he was taught by him, "to serve at Mass, to read your alphabet,
from him I learned the beauty of your liturgy, from its stories the living
testimony of how much faith has been tried and forged in the midst of the terrible
atheistic persecutions of the last century ".
Ukraine Conflict
During his address Pope Francis noted the ongoing conflict
in Ukraine and the suffering of the people there saying, “I am here today to
tell you all that I am close to you: close with my heart, with my prayers, and
when I celebrate Mass.”
He then prayed that the weapons of war would be
silenced.
The Pope also noted the numerous Ukrainian women of great
faith, courage and charity, telling them, “you are precious and you bring to
many Italian families the proclamation of God.”
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