A hundred representatives of church and public organizations are leaving Italy for Ukraine on another solidarity visit. A teleconference with the Italian Peace Squares is planned as part of the visit.
This is reported by Vatican News.
On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the 11th mission of the European Movement for Nonviolent Action will leave Italy for Ukraine. This time, it will include about 100 Italian activists representing church movements and NGOs. As Russian shelling of the Ukrainian capital and other cities intensifies, an interfaith and interreligious prayer will be offered in the spiritual heart of Ukraine, on St. Sophia Square in Kyiv, on July 11, the day of the liturgical remembrance of St. Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, which will also bring together people in 25 Italian cities.
The "Magnificat for Ukraine" prayer initiative will be opened by the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas. After the testimonies, representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations will take turns speaking, with speeches from Italy alternating via teleconference.
Among the speakers will be Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop Emeritus of Ancona-Osimo, who will lead the group that will gather in the town hall of San Severino-Marche, as well as abbots from Montecassino and Montevergine. Prayer groups will be united from the squares of major Italian cities such as Rome, Milan, and Torino. Numerous cloistered monasteries have stated that they will be spiritually united with Kyiv's St. Sophia Square.
"The gesture of the Peace Square aims to become a real sign of solidarity and empathy on the part of the many people who could not come to Kyiv with us. Digital platforms will make it possible to hear the voices of people who are physically far away but spiritually close to the people who are still suffering brutal violence from Russian aggressors, as the bombing of the children's hospital in Kyiv tragically demonstrated," said the spokesperson for the European Nonviolent Action Movement, adding that they thus act not only as representatives of the Peace Corps but also as "a bridge with those who are far from military operations but wish to express their closeness to the suffering of these people."