Exactly one year ago Pope Francis appointed Viswaldas Kulbokas Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine
The Ukrainians were then informed that the New Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine was originally from Lithuania. He is a doctor of theology and holds a licentiate in canon law. He worked in Apostolic nunciatures in Lebanon, in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the Russian Federation, and in the section of relations with states of the State Secretariat and Kenya.
For Archbishop Viswaldas Kulbokas, Ukraine became the first place of service as an Apostolic Nuncio.
On August 14, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Vislvaldas Kulbokas was ordained bishop in the Cathedral of St. Stanislaus and Vladislav in Vilnius. The ordination ceremony was led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Apostolic See.
Nuncio Viswaldas Kulbokas arrived in Kyiv on September 7, 2021, by flight from Vilnius. At the airport, he was met by employees of the Apostolic Nunciature, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches.
On October 3, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky accepted credentials in the nuncio Kulbokas.
Today, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, who is in the Nunciature in Kyiv, shares the fate of millions of Ukrainians suffering from Russian aggression.
In an interview with the Vatican media, he spoke about what he experienced in Kyiv during the failed attempt of the rashists to seize the capital of Ukraine.
"Most of all, I am concerned that the city of Kyiv, where I am located, is a big city with a little less than three million people, and now these days, it is completely paralyzed by military operations. In addition to the rockets that fly by, people hide as much as they can – in basements, at Metro stations – I have a question: What do patients and patients with any disease do? Because it's hard to move around, it's hard to find help... What should they do? Realizing that difficult days were approaching, everyone tried to replenish their supplies, but they would last for several days. And so the question arises: what happens if this situation continues for several days? What's left to eat? Because now there is no way to replenish supplies, and it is also risky to stay in apartments, in rooms, and it is difficult to be in public places... We also in Nunciature try to stay on the lower floors, where there is less risk of getting under fire, and therefore it is even more difficult to go out and find some open shops, but I do not think that they are open, or that they can replenish supplies because even the road connection is interrupted... What will happen in a few days? - this is a very big question. This morning I thought about the children of Kyiv: when they grow up, how will they treat others, having lived the first days, the first months, the first years of their lives under fire, under rockets? This is another big question," the nuncio said at the time.
On June 2, President Zelensky expressed special thanks to the ambassadors of the countries that have not left the capital since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression on February 24 – Polish ambassador Bartosz Cichocki and Nuncio of the Holy See Viswaldas Kulbokas.
According to Nuncio Kulbokas, today, he prays for peace in Ukraine and calls on all those who believe in God to be united in condemning war: "My desire and my call is that all those who believe in God should be united in condemning this war and every war. We must be united in condemning any aggression now and in any situation which will give humanity a bright future. This is my appeal."
