Ukrainian Greek Catholic Leader Gives Pope Leo XIV List of Ukrainian Prisoners Held by Russia

Pope Leo XIV received Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, for the second time during his pontificate. At a hearing at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on 12 February, the Chief Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych gave the Pope a list of the names of Ukrainian prisoners held by the Russian army. According to the report, the names were received directly from the families of prisoners and missing persons.

Shevchuk thanked the Pope for his solidarity with Ukraine and for the diplomatic efforts of the Holy See to achieve peace in the country, which Russia has invaded since 2022, according to a statement.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is part of the Byzantine Catholic Churches. The source says it claims 14.1% of Ukrainians as members. Its faithful are concentrated in the western provinces bordering Poland, particularly in the city of Lviv (Leopolis). The Church traces its roots to the 10th-century Christianization of Kyivan Rus, a federation of Eastern Slavic tribes whose heritage is shared by Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The Church currently has 16 eparchies or exarchates, equivalent to dioceses and vicariates, throughout the country.

Speaking during the meeting, Shevchuk said: “Our local Church of Kyiv Christianity is of Ukrainian origin, but it is not a Church only for Ukrainians; on the contrary, it is open to the proclamation of the Gospel to all peoples, precisely thanks to its full visible communion with the Successor of Apostle Peter.”

Pope Leo XIV expressed gratitude for the Church’s service in the country during the conflict. He highlighted the initiative “Healing the Wounds of War,” a pastoral plan aimed at helping those affected. At the end of the hearing, Shevchuk gave the Pope a sculpture of a peace dove struck by a metal fragment of a Russian missile. “This wound causes great pain to the bird, but we see that she is not dead, but alive. It is a beautiful symbol of modern Ukraine, wounded but alive,” Shevchuk said.

The two men had first met on 15 May. On that occasion, Shevchuk also gave the Pope a list of Ukrainians arrested by Russia, in an effort to secure their release through diplomatic mediation (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)