The head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who is serving as Pope Leo XIV’s special envoy, is travelling to Moscow.
The visit will run from 28 to 30 September, DW reports.
According to the cardinal, he plans to hold a series of meetings with government representatives in the Russian capital. The trip is a continuation of the humanitarian mission launched by Pope Francis and later reaffirmed by the new pontiff, Leo XIV.
Zuppi stressed that his main task is to help secure the return of Ukrainian children, the exchange of prisoners of war, and the resolution of civilian issues that have arisen because of the war.
- Pope Francis appointed Zuppi as his special representative for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine back in May 2023. Since then, the cardinal has already visited Moscow twice — in June 2023 and in October 2024.
- In addition, in August the Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, travelled to the Russian capital, where he held talks with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.