Pope Francis appealed
for Ukraine and Ecuador at his weekly general audience in St
Peter's Square Wednesday.
Appealing for Ukraine, Francis reminded those gathered in
St Peter's Square that for a long time the country's population
has been suffering the consequences of armed conflict,
forgotten, he said, by many.
On April 3rd, Vatican radio said, during his Regina Coeli
address the pope announced a special charity collection to
support the people of Ukraine telling the faithful it would be
possible to contribute to the collection in all Catholic
Churches in Europe on Sunday April 24 and saying that, "this
gesture of charity, beyond alleviating material suffering,
expresses my personal closeness and the solidarity of the entire
Church".
On Wednesday, the Holy Father thanked in advance those who
will contribute generously to this initiative this weekend.
The pope also greeted pilgrims from Ukraine and Belarus on
the occasion of an international conference marking the 30th
anniversary of the tragedy at Chernobyl. While praying for the
victims of the disaster, he expressed gratitude to all those
involved in alleviating their suffering.
During the audience and speaking in Spanish, Pope Francis
also expressed his closeness to the people of Ecuador who were
hit at the weekend by a massive earthquake which has left over
500 people dead.
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