Maria is one of the very few young Ukrainian women who will travel to Lisbon to participate in World Youth Day.
At today’s afternoon meeting with Lisbon Auxiliary Bishop D. Americo Aguiar at the Marian Sanctuary of Zarvanitsa, Maria said that if she could speak to Pope Francis, she would ask him to “pray for Ukraine” so that “young people can have hope for the future.”
But if Maria can go to Lisbon, the vast majority won’t be able to, for economic reasons and because that country has been at war for over 500 days.
“It’s one thing to see it on TV, and quite another to see with your own eyes how a boy receives the Ukrainian flag after being removed from his father’s coffin,” the newly appointed cardinal said with a noticeable tremor in his voice.
The Saint, the organizer of the World Youth Day, is currently in Ukraine with the main goal of reaching out to the youth of this country and telling them that they are part of this great worldwide youth gathering.
“The Pope asks me not to forget those who cannot go to Lisbon, and that is what we are doing here in a difficult place, saying that we are with them,” concluded D. Américo Aguiar.