Floriana, Malta, Apr 3, 2022 / 07:18 am
Pope Francis lamented the “sacrilegious war” in Ukraine as he prayed the Angelus in Malta on Sunday.
Speaking immediately after celebrating an outdoor Mass in the Maltese capital, Valletta, on April 3, the pope urged Catholics to pray for people aiding the suffering following the full-scale Russian invasion.
“May the Lord accompany you, and Our Lady keep you,” he said. “Let us now pray to her for peace, as we think of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in war-torn Ukraine, still under the bombardment of this sacrilegious war. May we be tireless in praying and in offering assistance to those who suffer.”
The pope has referred to the war throughout his two-day trip to the archipelago in the central Mediterranean Sea. Before leaving Rome, he met with a group of Ukrainian refugees. On the flight to Malta, he said that a papal visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was “on the table.”