The visit of the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to Ukraine, starting on Friday, July 19, follows his appointment as Pontifical Legate for the concluding celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Latin Rite Catholics, which takes place at the Marian Shrine of Berdychiv.

The Cardinal’s visit, his first to the Eastern European country since the beginning of the Russian invasion, is scheduled to end on July 24. During these days – as noted by the @TerzaLoggia account on X – Cardinal Parolin has various commitments and appointments on his program.

Mass at the Shrine of Berdychiv 

On Friday, Parolin made a brief stop at the Episcopate of the Metropolitan of Lviv of the Latins and then visited the city of Odesa.

On Sunday, July 21, the Cardinal will preside over Mass in Berdychiv for the concluding celebrations of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics. The Shrine is located in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province), west of Kyiv, and is a pilgrimage destination for Catholic faithful from all over Ukraine and other countries. In the past two years, pilgrims have visited to particularly seek Mary's intercession for peace.

Meeting with 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 previously visited Ukraine in June 2016 and August 2021.