Secretary for Relations of the Holy See with the States met with the UGCC hierarchs

The Vatican diplomat visited St. George's cathedral, where he got acquainted with its history. He also went down to the Crypt of the cathedral, where the leaders of the UGCC are buried, including the righteous Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky and Patriarch Josyf Slipyi.

Participating in the meeting with Archbishop Gallagher were: Archbishop and Metropolitan of Lviv Igor Voznyak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ivano-Frankivsk Volodymyr Viytyshyn, Eparch of Sambir and Drohobych Yaroslav Pryriz, assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Ternopil-Zboriv Teodor Martyniuk and assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Lviv Volodymyr Grutsa.

The meeting participants discussed a number of pastoral issues, in particular the peculiarities and challenges of pastoral care in war conditions.

Metropolitan Igor thanked the Apostolic capital for showing solidarity and support for Ukraine, as well as for the efforts made to end the war at this tragic time for the country. The Metropolitan of Lviv, thanking him for the visit, stressed that such meetings with high-ranking people from the Vatican are extremely important for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in particular during the defensive war of Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Finally, Archbishop Gallagher thanked the bishops for their time together, noting that the visit to Ukraine is very important for him.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations between the Holy See and the States, will make a visit to Ukraine from May 18 to 20, 2022, visiting Lviv, Kyiv and the localities affected by the war. The trip is organized in the context of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, as a sign of the proximity of the Pope and the Apostolic capital to the people suffering from war, and affirming the importance of dialogue for the restoration of peace.