Cardinal Krajevski: "I had to visit Kherson"
"I thank the Lord God for the opportunity to be with these people, to pray with them, and to help them as much as possible," commented Cardinal Konrad Krajevski on his sixth visit to Ukraine after the Russian invasion. The main purpose of the journey was to deliver humanitarian aid to the Kherson region, which suffered from the explosion of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam. However, the Apostolic Almoner also visited communities in Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, and Khmelnytskyi regions.
"Although this is my sixth visit to Ukraine [since the start of the large-scale war - ed.], I believe this visit was probably the most important, although each of them was very important," said the cardinal in an interview with the Polish edition of Vatican Radio.
"Now I have traveled to Kherson, where people have been suffering since the beginning of the war. Initially, they were under occupation because the Russians entered there on February 24, and then when the Russians were forced to leave Kherson, they took everything with them. They left these people in great fear and extreme poverty. And what the Russians didn't take, later the floods took when they blew up the dam. The residents endured months of shelling, which continued even during my stay there. So I had to go there to be with these people. Without making loud statements, just to be there. They knew that I had traveled over three thousand kilometers, that this was what the Holy Father wanted, that he sent me, that he prays for them, and that he is doing everything possible for peace. Of course, assistance was also important, not only material but also spiritual, simply praying together with them," noted the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
In Kherson, Cardinal Krajevski visited Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Orthodox communities. He also delivered assistance from the Pope to those affected by the flood.
Cardinal Konrad Krajevski mentioned that he was particularly moved by the prayer in Kherson. "After the Divine Liturgy, we sang a supplication - 'Deliver us from sudden and unexpected death, Holy God, Holy Mighty...,' and explosions were heard around us for kilometers. So I was deeply moved by this last visit, and I thank the Lord God for it," he said.
