Ukrainian Greek Catholic Head Prays for New Pope with Bishops at Conclave

On March 12, the first day of the conclave, the Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass (for the election of the Roman Pontiff) was celebrated by Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), in the Ukrainian Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Rome.

Before the Mass, the head of the UGCC urged those present to pray for the election of a new pope at the conclave, which begins in the afternoon. "The Ukrainian parish of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Rome is a gift of Pope Urban VIII to the Ukrainian people, so the fact that His Beatitude Sviatoslav prayed for the election of a new Roman Pontiff in this church is very symbolic," said Fr. Ivan Kulyk, the UGCC press service in Italy reports.

In connection with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the UGCC head sent a separate letter to the bishops and priests, in which he called to pray "for the grace and cooperation of the Holy Spirit during the election of the Pope of Rome, so that he was a good shepherd for the Church of Christ and servant to the servants of God."