On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the funeral of Pope Francis was held at the Vatican. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the UGCC, together with a delegation of bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, participated in the service.
This was reported by the Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome.
The funeral was attended by Bishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia; Cardinal Mykola Bychok, Bishop of the Eparchy of Melbourne; Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Bishop of the Eparchy of the Holy Family in London; and Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Exarchate in Italy.
Before the service began, His Beatitude Sviatoslav greeted the Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a conversation with the Ukrainian Head of State, he thanked him for his personal presence and emphasized the special significance of Pope Francis for the UGCC and the Ukrainian people.
Reflecting on Pope Francis, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted, “We will always remember him as the Pope of mercy and the Pope of hope, as the Pope who proclaimed the Catholic Church a Church that welcomes everyone, calling it a field hospital that heals wounds.”
He also emphasized that Pope Francis would be remembered as the Pope who prayed for Ukraine: “As Christ’s vicar on earth, as the successor of the Apostle Peter, he did everything in his power to stop the war. Pope Francis always emphasized: whenever humanity starts a war, it loses, because after every war the world goes downhill.”
After the service, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, together with the heads of other Eastern Catholic Churches, prayed the Resurrection Panakhyda at the coffin of Pope Francis.