The Vatican and President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Monday that Pope Leo XIV had spoken with the Ukrainian head of state, offering support to find an end to the ongoing invasion of his country.
Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Holy See, offered few details on the conversation, reinforcing Zelensky’s public comments on the matter.
Zelensky published an image on social media of himself apparently taking the pontiff’s phone call, praising Pope Leo for a “very warm and truly substantive” conversation.
“I thanked His Holiness for his support of Ukraine and all our people. We deeply value his words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the release of prisoners,” Zelensky wrote. “We also discussed the thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia. Ukraine counts on the Vatican’s assistance in bringing them home to their families.”
Zelensky relayed that he emphasized his openness to “further negotiations in any format, including direct talks” with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. The comment appeared to be a response to the Russian government announcing that Putin himself was open to such talks for the first time in over half a decade – Putin and Zelensky last met for talks chaperoned by France and Germany that achieved no meaningful results in 2019.
“I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelensky announced earlier on Sunday.
In his message on speaking to the pope, Zelensky reiterated, “Ukraine wants to end this war and is doing everything to achieve that. We now await similar steps from Russia.”
The Ukrainian president concluded that he invited the pope to make an “apostolic visit” to his country in the service of bringing “real hope to all believers and to all our people” – and that the two agreed to meet in-person in some capacity in the near future.
Pope Leo XIV assumed the earthly leadership of the Catholic Church on Thursday, emerging from the Conclave to succeed the late Pope Francis as the Bishop of Rome. Formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost Martinez, Pope Leo, a Chicago native, is the first pope of American descent and the second of Hispanic descent after Pope Francis. Prior to becoming a cardinal, he spent 38 years engaging in missionary work in Peru, where Pope Francis promoted him to the position of Bishop of Chiclayo, a regional capital.
As he has ruled over Vatican City for less than a week, Pope Leo has had little time to make public statements as the pontiff on political issues. On Sunday, however, he used an address marking the Regina Coeli – a Catholic tradition celebrating the crowning of the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven – to reference the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“In today’s dramatic context of a third world war fought piecemeal … I too appeal to the powerful of the world by repeating these ever-relevant words: never again war!” Pope Leo proclaimed, addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square.
“I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” Pope Leo said. “May all prisoners be freed, and may the children be returned to their families.”
The pope encouraged relevant world leaders by calling for “every effort [to] be made to reach a true, just, and lasting peace as soon as possible.”
The pope’s political remarks differed from the homily he delivered on Friday, his first as the Bishop of Rome. In those remarks, Pope Leo emphasized the importance for Catholics of recognizing the divinity of Jesus and carrying their faith in a world that often mocks it.
“There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” he stated. Many, he added, see Jesus as “a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism.”
Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, played a prominent role in attempts to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky met with Pope Francis in 2023 during a visit to the Vatican in which the pope “assured his constant prayer” over the situation. He previously met with Pope Francis in 2020, prior to the current stage of the decade-old Russian invasion.
“Both agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts,” Vatican City detailed. “The pope underlined in particular the urgent need for ‘humanitarian gestures’ toward the most fragile persons, innocent victims of the conflict.”
Following Pope Francis’s passing in April, the Vatican hosted an in-person meeting between Zelensky and American President Donald Trump, who has taken on a leading mediator role in the conflict. Zelensky asserted the meeting had “the potential to become historic.”
Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” Zelensky wrote at the time. “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you [President Trump].”
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