Humanitarian aid distribution in Ukraine (ANSA)
By Benedetta Capelli
Mar 30 2023
A truckload of medicines, generators and other items that departed Italy on Saturday arrives this morning in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Volunteers prepared the shipment at Rome’s Church of Santa Sophia together with help from the Office of Papal Charities.
At his General Audience today in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said “we persevere in prayer and offer our closeness to war-torn Ukraine.” The Pope’s words are an expression of the constant attention he gives to the country, suffering from war over a year now.
The Pope’s concern has often been shared publicly in his appeals for peace and bringing humanitarian aid. The latest help arrived in Kharkiv this morning with a truck loaded with generators, food, medicines that left Rome’s Church of Santa Sofia last Saturday, a meeting point of the Ukrainian community in Italy. Since the beginning of the war, the church has taken to heart the needs of Ukrainian families back home, efforts that have united them in their common desire to help in the face of the tragedy of the conflict. The Pope asked that his almoner’s office, called the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, help coordinate and prepare the shipment.
A difficult mission
“The Dicastery for the Service of Charity,” explained Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery, “wishes to thank all the drivers who with courage and in the face of adversity have managed to arrive in Ukraine, thus reaching their destination. It is a mission that must be carried out with caution and care because, as Cardinal Krajewski adds, the war is not over and the bombing and fighting continue. He concludes, “only when this shipment was delivered was I able to make this known. One must continue to offer help and pray for the tormented nation of Ukraine.” – Vatican News
