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

The Vatican Secretary of State has been appointed as Pope Francis’ Pontifical Legate for the concluding celebration of the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Latin Rite Catholics to the Marian Shrine of Berdychiv, west of Kyiv. He will preside over the celebration there on Sunday, 21 July.

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. There he was welcomed by Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki along with the Auxiliary Bishops Edward Kava and Leon Maly. Bishop Volodymyr Hrutsa, Auxiliary Bishop of the Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv, also attended the meeting. Also present were the Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi, and the head of the Lviv regional administration Maksym Kozytskyi

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 Minor Basilica at the request of the Ukrainian Latin bishops.

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 the site particularly to seek Mary's intercession for peace.

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

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

The gift he is bringing to Ukraine, Cardinal Parolin remarked, is, therefore, Pope Francis’ ongoing closeness to the suffering Ukrainian people: "This visit is yet another expression of the Holy Father’s concern for Ukraine and of his great hopes for peace,” he said, recalling that from the very beginning of the Russian invasion Pope Francis has tried to find ways to reach an end to the war, that is, “what has recently been called a just peace.”

“We talked about this at the recent Peace Summit in Bürgenstock [in Switzerland, ed.], Cardinal Parolin recalled.  “Therefore, closeness, prayer and hope that ways may be found to end this conflict as soon as possible".

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

"So far,” he explained, “starting from Cardinal Zuppi’s visit  to Kyiv and then to Moscow,  it has seemed to us that humanitarian initiatives are the way forward to bring about this (just) peace.”

“After all,” Cardinal Parolin added, “this idea is seemingly shared by the authorities in Kyiv, because in Switzerland they also spoke about three issues: first of all, nuclear weapons and avoiding an escalation; then the issue of the freedom of movement of goods and, last but not least, the humanitarian issue. So, the Holy See has focused on this also at the request of the Government itself, but in view of taking steps that can truly lead to a just peace".

Cardinal Parolin: Pope following situation in Ukraine with 'worry and pain'

As part of his ongoing visit to Ukraine, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has paid a visit to the port city of Odessa.

In a meeting on Saturday, 20th July in city’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Cardinal spoke with the cathedral's bishop and priests, representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, government representatives, and members of the city’s Catholic community.

Cardinal Parolin began the encounter by greeting those present on behalf of the Pope. 

The Cardinal said he wanted to “bring you the closeness, the presence and the blessing of the Holy Father Francis" - who, Parolin said, “is following your situation with so much attention, with so much worry and so much pain.”

The meeting in the Cathedral was a moment to share that pain, Cardinal Parolin added.

Earlier, the local Catholc bishop had lit a candle in memory of those who have died in the war with Ukraine.

Cardinal Parolin said it was important to remember “the pain of those who have lost their loved ones, those who have been injured ... and of those who are mourning the destruction of property, who have been forced to leave and find refuge elsewhere.”

However, the Cardinal noted, the encounter was also a moment for the sharing of hope.

“As Christians, we should not lose hope,” Parolin stressed – and that includes, he said, the hope that, “by the grace of the Lord, who is able to touch even the hardest of hearts … a way to a just peace can be found.”

Cardinal Parolin expressed his hope that this visit – like Cardinal Zuppi's diplomatic mission to Ukraine last year – would “make a small contribution toward the building of peace in this land”.

As well as the meeting at Odessa's Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption, Cardinal Parolin also visited the city's Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration - which was severely damaged last year in a Russian missile attack - and the Greek-Catholic Parish of St. Michael.