Zelenskyy invites Pope Leo XIV to visit Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Ukraine, they agreed to maintain contact and plan a personal meeting in the near future. Zelenskyy announced this on the Telegram channel, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

Zelenskyy spoke about the first telephone conversation with Pope Leo XIV, calling it very warm and substantive.

"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers, to all our people. We agreed to maintain contact and plan a personal meeting in the near future," he said.

Zelenskyy thanked Pope Leo XIV for his support for Ukraine and Ukrainians, for His Holiness' words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the release of prisoners. They talked about thousands of Ukrainian children deported by russia, Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is counting on the Vatican's assistance in returning them home, to their families.

Zelenskyy also informed the Pope of the agreement between Ukraine and its partners that a full, unconditional ceasefire should begin today for at least 30 days, and confirmed Ukraine's readiness for further negotiations in any format, including direct talks.

"Ukraine wants to end this war and is doing everything for this. We expect appropriate steps from Russia," he noted.

The Office of the President reported that this was the first telephone conversation between His Holiness and the leader of a foreign state.

The Office of the President also reported that Pope Leo XIV assured that the Holy See will continue to make efforts to resolve all issues of the humanitarian dimension.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on May 8, cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Pope, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first Pope from the United States.