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Pope Francis tells the UGCC head that Ukraine to remain forever in his heart

15.10.2015, 16:44
Pope Francis tells the UGCC head that Ukraine to remain forever in his heart - фото 1
The UGCC Patriarch thanked His Holiness for proclamation of the heroic virtues of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyy.

12140108_10204253956220931_8626593372176543168_o.jpgMaking the official visit to Vatican to participate in the Pontifical Synod on family issues, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the Holy Father and once again told him about the situation in Ukraine. The Bishop of Rome and the UGCC Head met on October 14.

In the conversation, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told Pope Francis about humanitarian crisis that Ukraine lives through due to the war in the east. Head of the UGCC shared with the Pope the UN information over half a million internally displaced people, victims of the war in Donbas. The Holy Father assured his Beatitude Sviatoslav in his prayer and support for the rehabilitation and building of a peaceful life in Ukraine. “Ukraine is in my heart and will always remain there,” Pope Francis said.

Additionally, the UGCC Patriarch thanked His Holiness for proclamation of the heroic virtues of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyy. He noted that “the figure of Metropolitan Andrey is invaluable in the life of our Church and the signing of the decree on recognizing his heroic virtues is a token of immense support of Ukraine by Apostolic See.”

On this occasion the patriarch gave Pope Francis a medal depicting the great Metropolitan, made on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth through the efforts of Volodymyr Palchynskoho, a Basilian monk from Ivano-Frankivsk monastic abode. The Pope gratefully accepted the gift from the Head of the UGCC and asked about symbols and images on the coin. According to the UGCC, it features two quotes from the works by Metropolitan Andrey stating his loyalty to the Church and the Ukrainian people. As Patriarch Sviatoslav stresses, the Pope knows how important the figure of Metropolitan Andrey is for UGCC. It was reported by the UGCC Information Department.