The Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Almsgiver of His Holiness, Prefect of the new Dicastery for the Service of Charity, will travel to Ukraine for the fourth time in the name of the Holy Father Pope Francis. This time he will head to the areas of Odesa, Zytomyr, Kharkiv, and other places in eastern Ukraine, to visit and support various communities. This will include visiting priests and other religious officials who, for more than 200 days, have continued to remain at their ministries despite the dangers of war.
“It is a silent and evangelical journey, to be with the people who suffer, pray and comfort each of them, showing with their presence that they are not alone in this situation that is bringing only destruction and death,” the dicastery said in statement to the press.
On his previous trip last Easter, the Polish cardinal visited the streets of Borodyanka. In front of the mass graves, Krajewski was moved and prayed, invoking: “Kyiv must rise again.”
Born in Lodz at the end of ’63, after graduating in theology, Krajewski studied in Rome and obtained a licentiate in liturgy. He served as master of ceremonies for three Popes – John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. In Aug 2013, Bergoglio chose him to lead the apostolic charity with a specific mandate: “You will not be a desk bishop”. Krajewski thus became the “right hand of the Pope”.
Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square today, Sunday, September 11, the Pope said: “We continue to pray for the Ukrainian people, that the Lord will give them comfort and hope.”
The Pope also announced that he has sent Cardinal Krajewski to Ukraine to “offer concrete witness to the closeness of the Pope and the Church.”
For security reasons, the exact date of the Cardinal’s arrival has not yet been specified.
