Pope Francis placed Russia and Ukraine under the protection of Mary. “May Our Lady lead our way by the hand today: let him lead him along the steep and arduous paths of brotherhood and dialogue, let him lead him on the path of peace,” Pope Francis said on Friday evening during the penitential service. in St. Rome. Similar prayers were held at the same time around the world, incl. in the Vienna Cathedral of St. Stephen under the leadership of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
The prayer action took place on the Feast of the Annunciation. Francis spoke of “a cruel and senseless war that threatens the world.” He emphasized the importance of “the precious goods of brotherhood and peace” and asked the Mother of God to “protect and guard us”. God has “plans for peace, not for misfortune.”
3,500 of the faithful were admitted to St. Peter for the ceremony. Another 2,000 believers could follow the penitential ceremony thanks to the large screens in St. Peter. “The brutal war that has struck so many people and that everyone is suffering from causes fear and terror to all,” the Pope said in a homily. “We feel a sense of powerlessness and inadequacy. We need God’s presence, the certainty of God’s forgiveness, the only one that will wipe away evil, relieve resentment and restore peace in the heart, “said the Pope.
The Vatican has published the text of the prayer for peace related to consecration in three dozen languages. Bishops and faithful from all over the world participated. Cardinal Schönborn consecrated Mary as part of the Way of the Cross in St. Stephen at the same time as the Pope. According to reports from the Italian press, retired Pope Benedict XVI. privately in the Vatican Monastery Mater Ecclesiae. Cardinal of the Curia, Konrad Krajewski, performed the dedication ritual at the world-famous Portuguese Marian pilgrimage site in Fatima.
In prayer in the cathedral of St. In addition to the deputy and counselor of the Ukrainian embassy Vadym Kowalewski, who sat in the front row next to the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), Nikolai Ageyev, the Russian cultural attaché, also arrived. According to Ageev, it was the first public event in Austria since the beginning of the war that was attended by representatives of Russia and Ukraine.
Since the outbreak of the war, the Pope has repeatedly condemned the conflict in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he made a phone call with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who apparently hopes for a visit by Pope Francis to his country. In a phone call on Tuesday, he invited Francis “to visit our country at this crucial time,” Zelenski said.
Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Ukrainian Catholic, said that the Pope’s visit was possible. The head of the church cannot meet a large group of believers in Ukraine – said the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lviv in an interview with the Polish agency KAI – informed Kathpress. But the pope could travel not only to western Ukraine, but also to Kiev or Odessa. “Ukraine is waiting for the Holy Father, even in this difficult war situation,” said Mokrzycki. With this, he has great hope for the end of the fighting. He recalled the joint visit to Kiev of the heads of governments of the EU countries of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in mid-March.