The Holy Father Pope Francis has prepared a surprise for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which will soon be made public by the Holy See. It was announced during the Liturgy on the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ by Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the Department of Information of the UGCC reports.
The representative of Pope Francis also conveyed the blessings of the Holy Father to the Greek Catholics on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ.
"The blessing of the Holy Father is not just a sort of prayer over you. This is a task entrusted to him and it is to preserve the faith of the brothers. And this is happening today in a special way,” said the Apostolic Nuncio.
He noted that on the day when Christians of the world were celebrating Easter according to the Western rite, the Pope also mentioned Ukraine.
“And you know that the Pope has even greater affinity, even greater support for the UGCC. And he has got a certain sign in his heart. I say it specifically to you to awaken your interest. I cannot say more. I think what Pope wants to do will soon be published. This primarily concerns such support,” said Archbishop Claudio.
"We hope that the Pope’s secret will soon become visible,” added His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the UGCC.
The Primate also noted that this year the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will remember the resurrection of our Church, the thirtieth anniversary of its coming out from the underground. "At that time, when, just think about it, Gorbachev, as the then chairman of the Communist Party, signed the necessary decrees on the legalization of the UGCC. No one, neither Stalin nor his communist ideology could destroy this Church. Our Church witnessed with the blood of martyrs – Christ is risen. And we all are witnesses of the risen Church, witnessing the resurrection,” said a spiritual leader of Ukrainians.
“May this Easter meeting with our Savior dispel the darkness of doubt, become a source of hope, become the strength of Ukraine's victory over the darkness of evil and falsehood, which today is so actively and aggressively fighting against us. As the last word will always be that of the resurrected Savior,” the head of the UGCC wished to all of us.