Vatican collection for Ukraine: ‘A beautiful witness of the Church'

Several trucks are preparing to leave the Basilica of St Sophia in Rome, a collection centre and focal point for solidarity with Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

On board are around 600 boxes of winter clothing, blankets, bed linen and food, collected from 22 to 24 October as part of an initiative organised by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, in collaboration with the Governorate of Vatican City State. The donations reflect the generosity of numerous Holy See employees.

The initiative was prompted by a conflict that, as Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, the Papal Almoner, explains, “cannot leave us indifferent as Christians, for whom love is central”.

The supplies will be delivered to ecclesial and charitable organisations in Kyiv, which will distribute them to those in need.

“The response has been excellent,” says the Augustinian archbishop. “I am deeply grateful for the generosity shown, which reflects a profound sensitivity to the suffering of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.”

Archbishop Marín de San Martín has words of thanks also for the staff of the Dicastery for collecting and sorting the large volume of donations received. He explains that the aim was to put charity at the centre of the initiative, “not in a theoretical sense, but in an eminently practical and concrete way”.

“Each of us felt personally challenged to consider how we could contribute, however modestly,” he says.

“The immediate response speaks of the sensitivity of the people who work at the Vatican. It has truly been a beautiful witness of the Church.”