Pope Leo XIV received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo on December 9, 2025, the Holy See Press Office confirmed. The Pope expressed his hope that "the diplomatic initiatives currently underway will lead to a just and lasting peace." This was their third meeting.
On December 9 at Castel Gandolfo, the two leaders had their third in-person meeting, as Ukraine tries to rally Europe's support.
The Ukrainian President is continuing his efforts to mobilise European support, while US President Donald Trump is pressing Ukraine to accept a peace plan with Russia that includes territorial concessions. After meeting with the French, British, and German heads of state and government in London yesterday and visiting Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky is now in Rome. He met with Pope Leo XIV this morning and is due to be received by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
As in July, the Ukrainian President met Pope Leo XIV at his residence in Castel Gandolfo, south-east of Rome. At that meeting, the two men were photographed on the balcony of the Villa Barberini, where the pontiff stays.
"During the cordial meeting, which focused on the war in Ukraine, the Holy Father reaffirmed the need to continue dialogue and renewed his urgent hope that the diplomatic initiatives currently underway will lead to a just and lasting peace," said a statement from the Holy See.
Last week, on his flight back from his trip to Lebanon, Leo XIV commented on Donald Trump's peace plan, and highlighted a possible role for Italy in achieving peace.
On that occasion, he said:
It is clear that, on the one hand, the President of the United States is thinking he can promote a peace plan that he would like to carry out and that, at least at first, is without Europe.
But Europe’s presence is important, and that first proposal was also modified because of what Europe was saying.
Specifically, I think Italy’s role could be very important. Culturally and historically, Italy has the capacity to act as an intermediary in the midst of a conflict that exists between different parties: Ukraine, Russia, the United States…
In this sense, I could suggest that the Holy See might encourage this kind of mediation, and that one should seek—and that we should seek together—a solution that could truly offer peace, a just peace, in this case in Ukraine.
In the statement released this morning about the meeting, the Holy See said that reference was made "to the issue of prisoners of war and the need to ensure the return of Ukrainian children to their families."
3rd time
This morning's meeting was the third between the two men. On July 9, the Pope had already received Volodymyr Zelensky at his residence in Castel Gandolfo, where he was spending his holidays. The head of the Catholic Church reiterated the Holy See's availability to welcome representatives from Russia and Ukraine "for negotiations."
He once again encouraged the release of prisoners and "the search for common solutions." President Zelensky also attended the installation mass of the new Pope on May 18. On that occasion, he met Leo XIV privately for the first time and afterward had an impromptu sit-down with Donald Trump at the Vatican.
In May, Trump supported the idea of mediation at the Vatican to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov considered it "unrealistic" to organise a peace summit between two "Orthodox countries" on "Catholic soil."
In the Vatican, too, some experts do not hesitate to admit that this hypothesis "is not very realistic."
Pope Francis
Before Leo XIV, Volodymyr Zelensky met Pope Francis on several occasions. At times, the Argentine pope's statements were criticized in Ukraine, which sometimes perceived Francis as being too open to Russia's side. In particular, at one point, Francis spoke of those who have the courage to raise "the white flag."
However, the Argentine pontiff's appointment of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi as special representative to negotiate prisoner releases in the spring of 2023 was welcomed by Kiev, despite mixed results in his efforts to work with Russia.
