At a press conference held on 9 July 2001, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, apostolic nuncio in Ukraine (pictured at right), stated that His Holiness Pope John Paul II might again visit Ukraine. Eterovic said that the Pope’s words of farewell before his return flight, “Do pobachennia, Ukraino!”(“Until we see each other again, Ukraine!”), may suggest such a desire on the Pope’s part.
The nuncio asserted, however, that it is rather early to talk about a concrete date for a possible return visit, as “right now it would be worthwhile to reap the fruits of the first visit.” He admitted “it will all depend on Divine Providence.” Eterovic mentioned that the Pope has made return visits to a number of countries, Brazil, France and Spain among others.
The Ukrainian-language source for this material is at www.korespondent.net.