Cardinal Parolin visits Ukraine – Vatican News
The Vatican Secretary of State is in Ukraine from July 19 to 24. The cardinal will preside over Mass at the Marian shrine in Berdychiv for the closing celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics of the Latin rite.
By Vatican News
The visit of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to Ukraine, which begins on Friday, July 19, follows his appointment as papal legate for the concluding celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics of the Latin rite, which is taking place at the Marian shrine of Berdychiv.
The cardinal’s visit, his first to the Eastern European country since the start of the Russian invasion, is scheduled to end on July 24. These days – as reported by the @TerzaLoggia account on X – Cardinal Parolin has various commitments and appointments on his agenda.
Mass at the Berdychiv Shrine
On Friday, Parolin made a brief stop at the episcopate of the Lviv Metropolitan of Latins, then visited the city of Odessa.
On Sunday, July 21, the cardinal will preside over Mass in Berdychiv to conclude the celebrations of the Ukrainian Catholic pilgrimage. The shrine is located in Zhytomyr Oblast, west of Kyiv, and is a place of pilgrimage for Catholic faithful from all over Ukraine and other countries. Over the past two years, pilgrims have traveled there to ask in particular for Mary’s intercession for peace.
Meeting with the authorities
In the coming days, the Vatican Secretary of State will visit the Greek Catholic Cathedral in kyiv. He is also scheduled to meet with the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
His program includes a meeting with Ukrainian civil and religious authorities.
Cardinal Parolin has already visited Ukraine in June 2016 and August 2021.
