President Zelensky and Pope Leo the 14th had already spoken by phone regarding the situation in Ukraine. However, once in the context of the new Pope's inaugural mass, they resumed the conversation.
The meeting with Zelensky was one of the two official appointments on the Pope’s schedule. The first was with Dina Boluarte, the president of Peru.
After that, he met with the Ukrainian leader and his wife. They gave the Pope a painting as a gift, which depicts Ukrainian children who are suffering the consequences of the war—many of them deported to Russia.
In fact, the wooden canvas of the painting was once a box used to store heavy artillery ammunition.
In a social media message after the visit, Zelensky said he hoped for the Vatican’s support in returning both children and prisoners to Ukraine.
