Nuncio to Ukraine brings Christmas greetings from Pope

(Vatican Radio) The Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, visited the Catholic communities of both the Greek and the Latin rites in Donetsk and Luhansk from December 16 to 18 2016. It is customary for the Nuncio to visit different communities on the eve of major religious holidays to convey the greetings and blessing of Pope Francis.

In spring 2016, the Apostolic Nuncio visited the community of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk for the feast of Easter.

During his Christmas visit, Archbishop Gugerotti spoke about the tireless work of Pope Francis for peace in the region and his desire to be able to be with all the aggrieved peoples of the world in order to give them an embrace of solidarity.

On the occasion of his visit to Luhansk, the Apostolic Nuncio visited Metropolitan Mytrofan of Luhansk and Alchevsk, Chair of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Throughout the trip, Archbishop Gugerotti was accompanied by Bishop Jan Sobilo, auxiliary bishop of the Latin Rite Diocese of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.