Pope Francis’ comments praising the historical Russian empire in a video conference with Russian youth were “very surprising” and “unfortunate,” says the newly appointed head of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of New Westminster.

Russian clergy and lay Catholics were "caught by surprise" by the pope's remarks in a video call Aug. 25 to a youth gathering in St. Petersburg praising the country's past empire and urging young people to "never give up this heritage."

The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians were shocked when Pope Francis told Russian Catholic youths to be proud of their heritage and cited two historic Russian leaders that, the archbishop said, are "the worst example of imperialism and extreme Russian nationalism."

Some World Youth Day pilgrims in Portugal were critical of Pope Francis for failing to condemn Russia’s brutal invasion of their homeland.

On the feast of Mary's assumption into heaven, Pope Francis entrusted to her people's prayers for peace, especially in Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday.

As the war in Ukraine approaches its 18th month with no end in sight, the humanitarian needs are greater than ever in the war-devastated country, says Anna Dombrovska, Ukraine program coordinator for the pontifical charity Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA).

A Russian attack on a key Ukrainian port city has partially destroyed a historic Ukrainian Orthodox cathedral and UNESCO World Heritage site, prompting international outrage and pledges to rebuild.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi hand-delivered a letter from Pope Francis to U.S. President Joe Biden as part of his three-day papal mission to help promote humanitarian efforts and open avenues of peace in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden met July 18 with Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Pope Francis' special envoy, to seek a peaceful resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Pope Francis has sent Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, his special envoy, to Washington as part of his ongoing humanitarian efforts to help Ukraine.

Just a little more than six months after Fr. Kevin Kelly SJ cleared the rooms and locked the doors for what he thought was the last time at a former Jesuit retreat house in Montreal, he and his team have now scrambled to prepare the Old Villa to once again welcome Ukrainians to Canada.

A Catholic university community in western Ukraine is reeling from a July 6 missile attack on the city of Lviv, located less than 80 km from the Polish border.

The Vatican is developing a plan to return to Ukraine children illegally deported to Russia but is not jockeying to mediate the war, Pope Francis' peace envoy said upon his return from his mission to Moscow.

As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine hit the 493-day mark June 30, OSV News sat down with Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, papal nuncio to Ukraine, to discuss his experiences of the war. Based in Kyiv, Visvaldas was visiting Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv for a conference and commencement exercises.