From the Vatican:
Marking Ukraine’s national feast on the 24th of August, Pope Leo XIV has sent a heartfelt message to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing his spiritual closeness to a nation scarred by the ongoing violence of war.
“With a heart wounded by the violence that ravages your land, I address you on this day of your national feast,” the Pope wrote.
The Holy Father particularly remembered the wounded, families bereaved by the loss of loved ones, and all those who have lost their homes. “May God Himself console them,” he said, praying that the Lord might “strengthen the injured and grant eternal rest to the departed.”
The Pope also appealed for the conversion of hearts and the silencing of weapons, imploring God to inspire people of good will to embrace dialogue and to open “the path to peace for the good of all.”
Concluding his message, Pope Leo XIV entrusted the Ukrainian nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, invoking her maternal intercession upon a land in search of healing and reconciliation.
Gratitude from Ukraine
The Pope’s message was published by President Zelenskyy in a post on his X account. “I am sincerely grateful to His Holiness for his thoughtful words, prayer, and attention to the people of Ukraine amid devastating war,” he wrote, adding that the nation’s “hopes” and “efforts” are “to achieve the long-awaited peace. For good, truth, and justice to prevail.”