Pope Francis Sends his Special Envoy for Peace in Ukraine to Washington, DC “to provide support for humanitarian initiatives aimed at alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable people, particularly children”

Pope Francis sent Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi  to Washington, DC as a special envoy for a peaceful solution to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

This was announced by the Holy See Press Office on July 17th, that Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is traveling to Washington, D.C. for a three-day visit as Pope Francis’ special envoy.

Cardinal Zupp, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, is accompanied by an Official from the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

The visit to the US Capitol takes place from the 17-19th of July, and comes just after Cardinal Zuppi’s visit to Kyiv and Moscow.

Pope Francis appointed the Italian Cardinal as his special envoy in early June, entrusting him with the mission of opening paths of dialogue and seeking peace in war-torn Ukraine.

“It seeks to facilitate the exchange of ideas and opinions regarding the current tragic situation, as well as to provide support for humanitarian initiatives aimed at alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable people, particularly children,” read the Holy See's statement.

Cardinal Zuppi visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on 5-6 June, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and several other high-level officials. The Cardinal then traveled to Moscow, in Russia, from the 28-30th of June, where he met with Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy Affairs, and with Maria Lvova-Belova, Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation.

In Russia, Cardinal Zuppi also met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, relayed Pope Francis’ greetings, and discussed humanitarian initiatives that could foster peace in Ukraine.

Speaking after the visit to Moscow, Cardinal Zuppi said the priority is to work for those who are most disadvantaged.

“The children must be able to return to Ukraine,” he told reporters. “Thus, the next step will be first to check on the children and then to see how to get them back, starting with the most fragile ones.”
 Cardinal Zuppi met with Pope Francis to discuss his peace mission, 
 to Kyiv and Moscow, in the Pope’s name.