Pope Francis planned to visit besieged Ukrainian Mariupol in 2022, Vatican envoy says
Photo: Pope Francis (Getty Images)
Pope Francis planned a visit to Ukraine during the full-scale war. The Pontiff was ready to come to the besieged Mariupol in May 2022, recalls Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Visvaldas Kulbokas in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
He noted that a decision to visit Ukraine could only be made by the Pope himself. According to the Nuncio, the Pope was ready to come to Ukraine in May 2022, when the situation in Mariupol reached a critical point.
"I remember that in 2022, there was even a moment - on May 15 - when the defenders of Mariupol had not yet been taken captive. There was a very complex proposal involving cooperation between different countries. It was perhaps a utopian idea to involve China, Turkiye, and Pope Francis as moral authority to help the defenders of Mariupol get out alive - not necessarily to return to non-occupied Ukrainian territory or avoid captivity, but to go to another country to stay there during the war," said Visvaldas Kulbokas.
As he explained, when he informed the Pope about the proposal to rescue Ukrainian soldiers, he immediately received a response from Pope Francis - if such a situation occurred, he would come to Ukraine to Mariupol.
"spiritually, Pope Francis was ready to come to Ukraine. This example shows me that his decision depended on his sense of when he could be most useful," he emphasized.
The Nuncio explained that for Pope Francis, it was not a matter of showing solidarity with Ukraine, but rather a matter of when his presence would bring the greatest results.
"I spoke several times with the Pope, and I even saw that his understanding evolved, because in 2022, I realized he was already preparing to come - I was expecting him. Then something changed in his thinking. And at the end of 2024–beginning of 2025, his position changed again. I again began expecting his visit to Ukraine. Only, there was no clarity about when," said the Apostolic Nuncio.
According to him, Pope Francis was such that even when he made a decision, he "felt free to change it if he realized it was a mistaken decision or if new information came to him."
"For me, it was never easy to understand whether he would come or not, or when he might come," added Visvaldas Kulbokas.
Death of Pope Francis
In February-March 2025, Pope Francis fell seriously ill with pneumonia. Due to his illness, the Pontiff was hospitalized and spent about a month in the hospital.
The news of the death of Pope Francis became known on April 21. The Pontiff passed away from a stroke on Easter Monday. His funeral took place on April 26.
This week, on May 7, a conclave began to elect a new Pope. On the first day, the cardinals were unable to elect a pontiff. However, by the evening of May 8, a white smoke appeared over the Sistine Chapel, signaling the election of the new Pope. He is Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.
He became the first American Pope and took the name Leo XIV.
