VATICAN CITY,(Washington Insider Magazine) – On Friday morning, Pope Francis visited the Russian Embassy in the Vatican to convey his concerns over the conflict in Ukraine, according to the Vatican press office.
The Russian Embassy to the Holy See is located on the road that goes into St. Peter’s Square, a little distance from outside Vatican City, and was widely regarded as a significant personal papal effort.
The Vatican supplied no more information beyond stating that the visit spanned only over an hour and that no video or images were given. In the front seat of a little white car, the pope was observed leaving the diplomatic building.
The Russian envoy in the embassy, Ambassador Aleksandr Avdeyev, told the Russian press that the pope wished to personally inquire about the condition in Ukraine and Donbas, and conveyed his deep worry about the humanitarian crisis and living circumstances of the people. He is said to have advocated for the protection of children, the ill, and those who are suffering.
Many Vatican observers were taken aback by the pope’s unexpected and uncommon visit to the embassy, as it is standard custom for diplomats to travel the Vatican to speak with the pope, according to ABC NEWS. When he has pressing items to discuss, Pope Francis has stopped in to meet people at Vatican offices beyond the small state’s boundaries in the past.
Commentators have remarked that the pope and the Vatican have also been cautious in openly condemning and criticizing Russia, some claiming that this is to avoid upsetting the Russian Orthodox Church.
Pope Francis urged Believers and non-believers to fast and pray for peace in Ukraine at the conclusion of his general audience inside the Vatican on Ash Wednesday.
He asked individuals in positions of political power to conduct a genuine assessment of conscience before God, and he implored world leaders to avoid taking any action that might worsen people’s suffering, destabilize international relations, and dishonor international law.
Due to a flare-up of knee discomfort, the pope will not make his intended one-day journey to Florence this Sunday and will have to miss the Ash Wednesday event in the Vatican at the beginning of Lent, according to the Vatican press office. His doctors advised him he needed more rest, but that didn’t appear to stop him from paying a surprise visit on Friday.
