Twenty-two years ago, Pope John Paul II visited Ukraine
It was 22 years ago that Pope John Paul II came to Ukraine. As part of his pastoral visit, he visited Kyiv and Lviv.
“The visit of John Paul II was an event that gave more subjectivity to Ukraine as a state during the time of President Kuchma. First of all, it was prepared very thoroughly, and, in my opinion, it set certain criteria for measuring the success of all later papal visits,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav about the visit’s significance. The occasion for this statement was an interview with the Glavkom news agency.
The Head of the UGCC recalled that at the time of the Pope’s visit, he was vice-rector of the Lviv Theological Seminary. “My team and I were directly involved in the visit preparation. I remember how we worked on various documents, logistics, and the preparation of all the liturgies in Kyiv and Lviv. I remember commenting on the Pope’s visit on television and radio. His word to the youth will probably forever remain a golden page in developing our independent state,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The Head of the UGCC called the visit itself an epochal event. “Obviously, we want the next visits to be of the same level,” said the Head of the Church, speaking about the possible visit of Pope Francis to Ukraine. This visit has been prepared and planned for several years: “The Pope told me he wants to come to Ukraine. But we see that the papal desire takes on a different context each time.”
The UGCC Department for Information
