Ukrainian children presented the Pope with a pigeon with a wounded wing

This is reported by CREDO.

"Our children have made a special gift for the Holy Father," the director of the Christian Center of St. Martin de Porres, Fr. Mykhailo Romanov, wrote on its Facebook page. — a pigeon with outstretched wings, one of which is singed, with a metal fragment of a Russian rocket, as if with a fatal wound on one side. This wound of a mutilated, crippled bird depicts our entire country, each of us. On the other side, the wings are painted — these are flowers, colored like a child's hope for a future without war and basements. Painted and made by children together with adults who have lived in the Christian Center of St. Martin de Porres since the first days of a full-scale war-this is part of their world; despite the set fire to the wing, there is a hope to rise into a peaceful sky without rockets and fear."

How exactly did this bird "fly" from Fastiv all the way to the Pope himself? This was stated by Bishop-assistant of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr Olexander Yazlovetsky:

"I was approached by one of the Italian journalists who was supposed to do his planned interview with the Pope. This is Fabio Manfreda from Mediaset TV channel, who talked with Francis about Christmas, children, and the situation in the world — it was not a separate conversation about Ukraine. The conversation came out under the headline "Christmas I wish" (Il Natale che vorrei). But he asked me for a gift for the Pope from Ukrainian children.

I turned to the director of st Martin Center, Fr. Mykhailo Romaniv because he has displaced people in the Center. Of course, they are in many places now, but I know Fr Mykhailo as a very responsible person. Therefore, he and his children made such a pigeon together: partly made of wood, partly made of iron, and for some of the iron, they used metal from shells, as can be seen in the photo.

Father Ruslan Mikhalkiv, rector of the Vorzel Seminary, who just had his meetings in Rome — has brought a broken statue of the Virgin of Fatima from the seminary and an exhibition of icons of Oleksandr Klymenko on, and conveyed the gift with the journalist. He presented it to Pope Francis on behalf of Ukrainian children, along with a letter to the Pope and an explanation of the symbols on this Dove.