VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis and his advisers at the Vatican on Friday (Oct. 11), where he said they discussed the hostage situation in Ukraine and the means to promote peace.
The Vatican was the third stop of Zelenskyy’s 48-hour, four-city tour of Europe, after London and Paris, where he hopes to secure financial and political support for his “victory plan.” He met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, and after the meeting with the pope, he left for Berlin on the same day.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to almost 1 million deaths, though reports vary according to the source. Many Ukrainians have been taken hostage by Russian forces, and Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was reported to have died in a Moscow prison on Sept. 19.
“The issue of our people returning home from captivity was the main issue during the meeting with Pope Francis. We count on the assistance of the Holy See in the return home of Ukrainians captured by Russia,” read a statement by Zelenskyy published on social media the same day.
For all of us in Ukraine, the issue of captured and deported people remains incredibly painful. These are adults and children, many civilians who are now held in prisons and camps in Russia.
Yesterday, it was reported that Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna died in Russian… pic.twitter.com/9AECwB6ncY;
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 11, 2024
The discussions at the Vatican “were dedicated to the state of the war and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, as well as the ways in which it could be brought to an end, leading to just and stable peace in the country,” according to a press release by the Holy See.
Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis before sitting down for discussions with the No. 2 official at the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the de facto foreign minister of the Holy See, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. The Vatican said that officials also discussed “some matters relating to the religious life of the country.”
In August, Pope Francis made an appeal for religious freedom in Ukraine after the government in Kyiv officially banned the Russian Orthodox Church from the country.
Pope Francis meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo by Vatican Media)
In the meeting with Vatican officials, Zelenskyy “discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula, with a particular focus on the point regarding the return of deported children and the release of civilian hostages and prisoners of war,” according to a tweet by the Ukrainian president on Friday.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, a veteran negotiator for peace and the head of the Italian bishops, was appointed as peace envoy for the war in Ukraine by Pope Francis in May 2023. Though his work remains mostly secret, Zuppi visited Moscow, Kyiv, Washington and Beijing in his efforts to offer humanitarian aid and mediate a peace.
Zelenskyy said that the meeting at the Vatican wished to pave the way toward a conference “on the release of prisoners and deported Ukrainians” scheduled at the end of the month in Canada.
This summer, Parolin visited Ukraine and met with numerous government and religious leaders. On that occasion, Zelenskyy presented Parolin with a medal of order of merit for his efforts in supporting the sovereignty of Ukraine. The trip was considered a “success” by both sides.
Zelenskyy recognized the results of the cardinal’s visit in a tweet on X. “I am certain that this will help unite international efforts in the process of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he wrote.
Pope Francis has so far declined offers to visit the war-torn cities of Ukraine, stating that he will only visit the country when it can promote peace and when he will have an opportunity to visit Moscow as well. Vatican diplomacy has made efforts to remain impartial in the conflict in the hope of mediating a peace between the warring nations.