Pope prays for peace in Ukraine at the foot of the statue of the Immaculata in Piazza di Spagna in Rome. Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Due to the pandemic, the ceremony was held in front of the faithful for the first time in three years.

In the prayer, the pope said he would very much like to thank the people of Ukraine for peace. However, after these words, head church emotions take over. Francis stopped his prayer and was silent for about 30 seconds, clearly moved. It was also evident that her body was shaking with sobs. Including time The crowd in the square applauded.

When the whale started to speak again, his voice cracked. “Instead, I must beg you one more time childrenparents, fathers and mothers, the young people of this tormented land who are suffering so much, he continued.

Photos from the ceremony show him wiping tears from his eyes. It is the first time the pope has publicly expressed his feelings about the war in Ukraine.

The Pope gets a cross. And inside was the shrapnel of a rocket pulled out of the body of a 13-year-old girl from Ukraine

The Pope avoided commenting on the war for a long time. Until recently, he also did not say who was responsible for it, which drew a lot of criticism. But recently, he changed his line a bit.

On Wednesday, December 7, during his weekly general audience with the faithful, he made comparisons Russia to Hitler’s Germany. The Pope addressed the pilgrims from Poland present at the audience. – On Monday [5 grudnia – red.], The Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations named after Abraham Heschel of the Catholic University of Lublin commemorates the anniversary of “Action Reinhardt”. During World War II, it led to the extermination of nearly two million people, mainly of Jewish descent – he said.

– May the memory of this terrible event awaken in all of us the desire and action for peace. History repeats, repeats. We saw today what happened in Ukraine. Let’s pray for peace. I cordially bless those of you here and your companions Vatican News.

Operation “Reinhardt” (Einsatz Reinhardt) was a plan to systematically kill Jews in the General Government – a territory of the Second Polish Republic under military occupation of the Third Reich with a German civil government unilaterally established. The Nazis implemented the program in the fall of 1941. It was part of the bloodiest stage of activity aimed at exterminating the Jewish population. For this purpose, three extermination camps were established: Bełżec, Sobibór and Treblinka.

Ukrainians also attended the hearing, including the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, according to Vatican News. The politician presented the priest with a gift – a cross with a shard Russian rocketextracted from the body of a 13 year old girl.