Pope joins prayers for peace in Ukraine on Independence Day

The Pope sent a message to Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast on Sunday, ‘pleading with Almighty God to end the war and grant Ukraine a just and lasting peace’.

Pope Leo offered prayers “for the people of Ukraine who are suffering from the war” in a letter to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday.

The message marking Ukraine’s Independence Day on 24 August assured the president of the Pope’s prayers that “the clamour of arms may be silenced and give way to dialogue, opening the way to peace for the good of all”.

Sharing the message on social media, President Zelenskyy said he was grateful for the Pope’s “moral leadership and apostolic support”.

In his Angelus address the same day, Pope Leo joined his prayers with the “Global Prayer for Ukraine” initiative and those “asking the Lord to grant peace to their tormented country”.

Leo also sent a message to Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast on Sunday, “pleading with Almighty God to end the war and grant Ukraine a just and lasting peace”.

“I pray for the protection of the daughters and sons of Ukraine, who suffer daily from inhumane bombings and attacks. I also ask the Lord to expedite the safe return of civilian and military prisoners, as well as children who have been deported or unlawfully separated from their families,” he said.

“May He heal wounded families, provide comfort to those who have lost loved ones, and offer spiritual renewal to the entire Ukrainian people.”

He had asked the Church to mark the Feast of the Queenship of the Virgin Mary two days earlier with prayer and fasting, “imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of ongoing armed conflicts”.

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said European leaders’ attendance at last week’s talks in Washington between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump showed they “understand that the fate of Europe is being decided in Kyiv today”.

“We all want peace, but true peace is always just,” he said on Ukrainian television on 23 August, rejecting the possibility of concessions to Russia. “It is obvious that we will never be satisfied if part of our people is once again enslaved. That would not be just.”

On Tuesday, the Vatican published Pope Leo’s theme for the World Day of Peace on 1 January 2026: “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace”.

“It is not enough to call for peace,” said a statement from the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. “We must embody it in a way of life that rejects every form of violence, whether it be visible or systemic.”

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