Marking Ukraine’s Independence Day (celebrating the anniversary of freedom from Soviet control in 1991), Pope Leo XIV pledged his prayers for the Ukrainian people in a message to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and encouraged Catholics to respond to his and Ukrainian religious leaders’ request for prayers for peace. “With a heart wounded by the violence that ravages your land, I address you on this day of your national feast,” he said in his message. “I wish to assure you of my prayer for the people of Ukraine who suffer from war, especially for all those wounded in body, for those bereaved by the death of a loved one, and for those deprived of their homes.” The pope also said, “I entrust your nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.”
