The Head of the UGCC in Week 242: No One Is Forgotten—Not Only in the Memory of Our Church and Our People, but Also Before the Lord
His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in his traditional video address during the 242nd week of Russia’s full-scale, bloody war against Ukraine, expressed his gratitude to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the special envoy of Pope Leo XIV, for his mission in Russia—for having succeeded in obtaining permission to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Until now, the Russians have not allowed any international institution to visit the places where our young women and men are being held captive. This is an extremely important gesture and a crucial step. Let’s imagine: a prisoner of war is not merely held in a place of confinement. He is isolated from time and space. He does not know where he is. He is subjected to a regime in which he does not know whether it is day or night, what season it is outside, or what day of the calendar it is. They want to strip him of his faith that anyone remembers him; they try to erase that person’s very name. And there, in that realm of captivity, torment, and human suffering, the figure of the Pope’s envoy appears with a word of blessing,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
“This means that no one is forgotten. The Lord God remembers each and every one of them,” the spiritual leader emphasized.
In February of this year, the President of Ukraine cited a figure of approximately 7,000 Ukrainian servicemen held captive by Russia. More than 114,000 servicemen in Ukraine are listed as missing in action.
Read also:
Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 242nd Week of the Full-Scale War, October 4, 2026
The Head of the Church thanked Pope Leo XIV for his assistance in securing the release of prisoners of war: “And every time we manage to ascertain the fate of our young men and women—the defenders of Ukraine—to preserve their names and honor their dignity, we take another important step toward a just and lasting peace.”
The UGCC Department for Information
