“Pope Leo XIV, just like His Beatitude Lubomyr, radiates peace,” — His Beatitude Sviatoslav
On the program Open Church on Zhyve TV, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church shared his impressions of his first private audience with Pope Leo XIV. In the newly elected Pontiff, His Beatitude Sviatoslav saw a spiritual resemblance to his great predecessor, His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar.
“I had the feeling that I was in the presence of someone very similar to our Blessed Lubomyr, my great predecessor… Pope Leo XIV, like Blessed Lubomyr, radiates peace. He is a person who not only speaks of peace, but who carries the peace of Christ within himself,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He recalled that the Pope’s first word after his election was peace, adding that Italian journalists have even called him Papa Tranquillo, meaning “the peaceful Pope.” “From the very first moment, peace reigned between us, which became the basis for this meeting,” emphasized the Head of the UGCC.
The audience of His Beatitude Sviatoslav with Pope Leo XIV took place prior to the official inauguration of the Pope on May 15, 2025—on the very day negotiations to end the war in Ukraine began in Istanbul. The primary topic of the private conversation between the Head of the UGCC and the Pontiff was Ukraine—its suffering, pain, and hope.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav presented the Pope with a unique work entitled Requiem. The Pain of Ukraine, created in pyrography by the father of a fallen Ukrainian soldier. This artwork became an expression of the pain caused by the war—not only in words, but through art.
The Head of the UGCC shared that during the audience, he thanked Pope Leo XIV for his unequivocal stance on the war in Ukraine, which he had already expressed on the first Sunday after his election during the Regina Coeli prayer. At that time, the Universal Shepherd firmly condemned the unjust aggression, called for an immediate end to the war, the release of prisoners, and the return of abducted children.
“I said to him: Holy Father, Your memory of Ukraine—Your words—immediately became a balm for our wounds. Russia is attempting to deprive us of our name, to deny Ukraine’s existence, to claim that Ukrainians are not a people with their own language, culture, traditions, and even Church, but merely a territory inhabited by anonymous natives. They wish to negotiate over this territory. However, every time you mention Ukraine, you grant us visibility. You, as Pope, restore our name to us. And when you speak of a just peace—when you say that there is no peace without truth—you soothe our wounds. Your words lift our spirits, heal us, and return our name to us,” shared His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
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During the first audience, the Head of the UGCC handed the Pope a list of 500 names of Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Holy Father reviewed the list and replied: “I will do everything in our power to stop this war.”
During the meeting, they also discussed the new challenges facing the UGCC: pastoral care for those who mourn, serving people who have lost everything, hope, and often—themselves. His Beatitude Sviatoslav spoke about the Church, which stands alongside its people, bringing them Christ as their only hope.
At the end of the audience, the Head of the UGCC confirmed the invitation already extended by the President of Ukraine to the Pope to visit Ukraine. “Just as Pope Leo the Great left Rome to stop Attila, today everyone understands who modern-day Attila is and where we need to go to stop the new barbarians who are bringing death and destruction to Europe,” concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The UGCC Department for Information
