Volodymyr Zelenskyy gifted Pope Leo XIV with an icon painted on a fragment of a heavy artillery box brought from Izium.
The Head of State announced this on his Telegram channel.
“For many nations, the image of a mother and child symbolizes life, which must be protected. Today, we presented a special icon to Pope Leo XIV titled ‘The Mother of God with the Child’. This icon was painted on a fragment of a heavy artillery box brought from Izium.”
The creators of the icon are Oleksandr Klymenko, Herman Klymenko, and Sonya Atlantova.
As Zelensky explained, “This icon represents our children, those who have suffered from the war — specifically, those who were deliberately abducted and deported by Russia and are eagerly awaited back home in Ukraine.”
He continued, “We pray for the lives of all our deported children and hope to receive support from the Vatican in this matter so that everyone — both the children and Ukrainian prisoners — can return home.”
As reported, Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV immediately after his enthronement on May 18. The President of Ukraine congratulated the Head of the Catholic Church on the start of his pontificate and expressed gratitude for his attention to the Ukrainian people.