On the 1,000th day of the war began with the invasion of Russian military forces in February 2022, Pope Francis sent a letter to the citizens of Ukraine expressing his deep solidarity with the country.
“Through this letter, which I address to you as my representative in beloved and martyred Ukraine, I wish to embrace all its citizens, wherever they may be,” wrote the Holy Father in a letter addressed to the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Msgr. Visvaldas Kulbokas.
In the letter, dated November 19, the Holy Father recalled that “one thousand days have passed since the large-scale military aggression that the Ukrainians are suffering.”
According to a November 12 statement from UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, some 170,000 people have fled their homes east of the country since August of this year, joining the 4 million displaced within Ukraine and the 6.7 million more who have sought refuge outside the country.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on 19 November that at least 12,162 civilians have been killed since February 24, 2022, including 659 children; and at least another 26,919 civilians have been injured.
“I know well that no human word is capable of protecting their lives from the daily bombings, nor of consoling those who mourn the dead, nor of healing the wounded, nor of repatriating children, nor of freeing prisoners, nor of mitigating the harsh effects of winter, nor of restoring justice and peace,” said the Pontiff.
Pope Francis then stressed that “it is this word PEACE, often forgotten by today’s world, that we want to hear echo in the families, in the homes and the squares of beloved Ukraine, but at least for now it is not like that!”
The Holy Father invoked “God, the only source of life, hope and wisdom, to convert hearts and make them capable of following a path of dialogue, reconciliation and harmony.”
The Pope also expressed his closeness to the “minute of national silence” during which Ukrainians “remember with sorrow the numerous victims of the conflict, children and adults, civilians and soldiers, as well as prisoners, who are often held in deplorable conditions.”
“I join them, so that the cry that rises to heaven, from where help comes, may be louder: ‘My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121).”
Pope Francis also stressed that it is the Lord who will demand an account of “all the tears shed” and remarked that “He remains with us even when human efforts seem fruitless and actions insufficient.”
In conclusion, he expressed his “confidence that God will have the last word on this terrible tragedy” and blessed “all the Ukrainian people, beginning with the bishops and priests, with whom you, dear brother, have remained, together with the sons and daughters of this nation throughout these thousand days of suffering.”