On February 11, Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) started a visit to Germany.
During the first days of his stay in Germany, the head of the UGCC visited Altotting, the largest pilgrimage destination in Germany associated with the Virgin Mary.
The head of the UGCC got acquainted with the history and museum of the pilgrimage place. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Passau Wilhelm Schraml invited Patriarch Sviatoslav “to visit this place, which is rich in God’s grace, with the Ukrainian pilgrims again and to pray jointly with the German pilgrims for our two nations.”
During the visit, Patriarch Shevchuk met with the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Meisner.
The cardinal thanked the head of the UGCC and all the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, “which by its suffering testified to the whole undivided Christ’s Church and sealed its loyalty to its native Orthodox faith and Catholic Church with the blood of the martyrs.” The archbishop spoke warmly of Patriarch Shevchuk’s predecessors whom he knew personally.
In his turn, Patriarch Shevchuk expressed his gratitude to the cardinal for his support of the UGCC.
According to the Information Department of the UGCC, on February 12, the head of the UGCC led a Hierarchical Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Apostolic Exarchate in Munich.