The King and the first lady of Ukraine made a visit to London’s Ukrainian Catholic cathedral on Wednesday, described by its bishop as “a powerful sign of solidarity between the people of the United Kingdom and our sisters and brothers in Ukraine”.
Olena Zelenska joined the King at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile, which he last visited in March shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The King officially opened the Ukrainian Welcome Centre on the site, which began operating following his previous visit.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family welcomed them to the cathedral.
“We are honoured that his majesty has come back to our cathedral, and we pray his next visit will be to give thanks for an end to the war – a war that has taken so many innocent lives,” he said.
He presented the King with an icon of the Blessed Theotokos of Eleousa (Our Lady of Tenderness), a gift from Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The icon is written on fragments of a munitions box.
Bishop Nowakowski also assured Mrs Zelenska that the cathedral offered prayers each day for her husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and for the forces and people of Ukraine.
Andriy Marchenko, the director of the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, introduced the King and Mrs Zelenska to the centre’s staff and volunteers, and to Ukrainian refugees with their British sponsors. The centre has processed 4,000 assistance requests and helped 450 people at drop-in sessions since it began operating.
“The visit of his majesty gives a great boost of morale to our staff, volunteers and all the temporarily displaced Ukrainians who come to the welcome centre for help,” said Mr Marchenko.
“All those who have been driven from their homes in Ukraine were especially excited about seeing the first lady of Ukraine here as well.”
The visit was part of Mrs Zelenska’s trip to the UK to highlight the plight of Ukrainians facing a severe winter. On Tuesday she addressed MPs in the House of Commons, comparing the bombardment of Ukrainian cities to the air raids on Britain during the Second World War.
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