Pope Francis donates third ambulance to Ukrainian hospital

Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis' closeness to suffering Ukraine is demonstrated once again, concretely, with his latest donation of an ambulance to a Ukrainian hospital.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, pontifical chaplain and prefect of the Dicastery for Charity, will once again be responsible for delivering the rescue vehicle, which will be the third ambulance that the Holy Father is sending to Ukraine.

For the eighth time, Cardinal Krajewski will travel 2,000 kilometers to the Zboriv district in Ukraine's Ternopil region to deliver the ambulance equipped as a mobile resuscitation center to the central hospital.

In addition, the Pope sends Cardinal Krajewski a large quantity of essential and vital medicines from the Vatican pharmacy and that of the Gemelli hospital in Rome.

The Pope's proximity to Ukraine

In the Ternopil region, due to the continuing war, many convoys arrive daily carrying wounded soldiers and civilians.

Thus, the ambulance will also be a valuable tool to support rescuers of the injured.

The papal chaplain will also inaugurate, in the name of the Pope, the church of 'St. John Paul II Rehabilitation Center, built in Vinnytsia in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamyanets-Podilskyy, to assist in the physical and psychological rehabilitation of those who suffered war trauma.

The center, like others of its kind, was built with the contribution of several pontifical foundations such as Aid to the Church in Need and the Papal Foundation, and will be open to “all”, without any distinction of faith , nationality or exclusion.