Cardinal Parolin: Holy See committed to just peace in Ukraine

By Mariusz Krawiec and Lisa Zengarini

Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday for a six-day visit, his first to the war-torn country since the Russian invasion began in 2022.

The Vatican Secretary of State has been appointed as the papal legate of Pope Francis for the closing celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics of the Latin rite to the Marian shrine of Berdychiv, west of kyiv. He will preside over the celebration, which will take place on Sunday, July 21.

Upon his arrival on Friday afternoon, Cardinal Parolin, accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, made a brief stop at the Curia of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv. He was welcomed there by Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki and Auxiliary Bishops Edward Kava and Leon Maly. The meeting was also attended by Bishop Volodymyr Hrutsa, Auxiliary Bishop of the Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv. Also present were Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi and the head of the Lviv regional administration Maksym Kozytskyi.

Pray for peace

Speaking to Vatican News after this first meeting, Cardinal Parolin explained that the main reason for his mission is the celebration at the Marian shrine of Berdychiv, which is to be elevated to the rank of minor basilica at the request of the Ukrainian Latin bishops.

The shrine is located in Zhytomyr province, west of kyiv, and is a place of pilgrimage for Catholic believers from all over Ukraine and other countries. Over the past two years, pilgrims have been visiting the site, among other things, to ask for Mary’s intercession for peace.

Prayer for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Ukraine will once again be at the center of Sunday’s celebration, Cardinal Parolin said: “It will be a choral prayer raised to the Mother of God, so that she may finally grant peace to this country that the Holy Father has always defined as ‘martyred,’ ‘martyred Ukraine.'”

The Vatican Secretary of State also explained that this special occasion would also offer him the opportunity to meet with Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he would most likely discuss prospects for peace with Russia.

The gift he brings to Ukraine, Cardinal Parolin noted, is therefore the constant closeness of Pope Francis to the suffering Ukrainian people: “This visit is a new expression of the Holy Father’s concern for Ukraine and his great hopes for peace,” he said, recalling that since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Pope Francis has tried to find ways to end the war, that is, “what has recently been called a just peace.”

“We spoke about this at the recent Peace Summit in Bürgenstock (in Switzerland, editor’s note),” recalled Cardinal Parolin. “This is why we remain close, pray and hope that the means to end this conflict will be found as soon as possible.”

Commitment to a just peace

On behalf of Pope Francis and the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin expressed once again his concern for the situation in Ukraine and reiterated his commitment “to find a solution to achieve this just peace.”

“Until now,” he explained, “from Cardinal Zuppi’s visit to kyiv and then to Moscow, it seemed to us that humanitarian initiatives were the way forward to achieve this (just) peace.”

“Ultimately,” Cardinal Parolin added, “this idea seems to be shared by the authorities in kyiv, because in Switzerland there was also talk of three issues: first of all, nuclear weapons and the need to avoid an escalation; then, the question of the free movement of goods and, finally, the humanitarian question. The Holy See has therefore looked into this issue, also at the request of the government itself, but with the aim of taking measures that can really lead to a just peace.”