Pope Francis had an online meeting on the afternoon of February 1, 2025, with young Ukrainians connected from Kiev and other cities in Europe and America, the Holy See Press Office reported in the evening.
After a moment of prayer, the young Ukrainians read testimonies about the war and its dramatic consequences for their families and loved ones. The Pope expressed his closeness to them and his sorrow for the wounds caused by the conflict, lamenting how “war causes hunger, war kills.”
The Argentine pontiff asked them to “love the homeland, care for the homeland,” reported the Holy See Press Office. The Pope evoked the life of Oleksandr, a young combatant whose booklet of the Gospel and Psalms he keeps “as relics” on his desk, he explained.
Francis had paid tribute to this young Ukrainian during his general audiences on March 13 and April 3, 2024.
Peace through dialogue
The Pope also invited young Ukrainians to dream of a peaceful future. “Peace is built through dialogue; don't tire of dialogue,” he urged.
He acknowledged that forgiveness is “one of the most difficult things” in life, especially when the pain and injustice of war leave deep wounds in the heart. But he invited everyone to “look in their own lives to see how they have been forgiven.”
“This phrase helps me: I must forgive as I have been forgiven,” he confided.
In some circles criticized for not directly mentioning Russia's responsibility, Pope Francis regularly expresses his compassion for “martyred Ukraine,” praying for the country at every general audience and Angelus.
“I am thinking of you, young people, who, in order to courageously defend your homeland, have had to take up arms instead of realizing the dreams you had cultivated for the future,” wrote the Pope in his Letter to Ukrainians published on November 24, 2022, nine months after the start of the Russian offensive.