Bishop of Kharkiv meets Pope to discuss ending war in Ukraine

Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia diocese met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on September 11. During the private audience, the Bishop expressed gratitude for the Pope’s prayers and support for Ukraine, noting that he felt comforted by assurances that efforts are being made to “bring this war to an end.”

Bishop Honcharuk, who described Kharkiv as the “epicenter” of the conflict, was accompanied by a delegation including Father Volodymyr Kyrylyuk, a volunteer chaplain; Sister Nelia Kutsak; and psychologist Tatiana Goncharuk. The group, which includes members of the Military Chaplaincy Commission, has worked with soldiers and bereaved families since 2014. The Pope used the meeting to renew calls for an end to violence and to lament recent attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.