Pope Francis has called for prayers for Ukraine during an April 3 Mass during the second day of his visit to Malta.
“Let us pray for peace and remember the humanitarian tragedy of martyred Ukraine,” the pontiff said, calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “sacrilegious war.”
The pope also visited the John XXIII Peace Lab, a nongovernmental center named after Pope John XXIII that is preparing to receive Ukrainian refugees.
A day earlier, Francis, 85, said he was considering an invitation to visit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko earlier extended the invitation to the pope.