Vatican City - Pope Leo XIV will hold his first private audience Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the American pontiff's inauguration mass, the Vatican said.
Pope Leo XIV (r.) will hold his first private audience Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was at the Vatican to attend the pontiff's inaugural mass. © Collage: REUTERS
"The martyred is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen," the pontiff said ahead of the meeting.
Zelensky was among politicians, royals, and faith leaders from around the world who attended the .
In St. Peter's Square, the Ukrainian leader shook hands with US Vice President JD Vance.
Before becoming pope, Leo criticism of President Donald Trump's administration over its approach to migration. He also criticized Vance's doctrinal arguments, but the account is no longer accessible.
In his Regina Coeli prayer at the end of the mass, Leo also noted that "in Gaza, children, families, and elderly survivors are reduced to hunger."
And he recalled how "in Myanmar, new hostilities have destroyed innocent young lives."
