The Pontiff cancelled all audiences scheduled for this Friday morning and met with Moscow’s representative, Aleksander Avdeev.

Vatican City (25/02/2022 10:27 AM, Gaudium Press) Pope Francis cancelled all audiences scheduled for this Friday morning, 25, and went unexpectedly to the Russian embassy to the Holy See in Via della Conciliazione to ask for an end to the bombing in Ukraine. The conversation with Moscow’s ambassador, Aleksander Avdeev, lasted about half an hour. Francis’ mediation with Russia comes after the heartfelt appeal for peace in Ukraine with the invitation to prayer and fasting for March 2.

Cancellation of Florence trip and Ash Wednesday Mass

Francis decided that he will no longer go to Florence, a trip that was scheduled for next Sunday, where he would participate in the closing of the meeting of the Bishops and Mayors of the Mediterranean organized by the Italian Bishops Conference. The Pontiff’s presence at the Ash Wednesday celebration on March 2 at the Aventino has also been cancelled.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the reason for these cancellations is an “acute knee pain, for which the doctor has prescribed a period of greater rest.” However, in the corridors of the Vatican, rumours continue to circulate, linking the cancellation of the Florence trip to the crisis in Ukraine and the uproar among clergy and peace activists regarding the attendance of Marco Minniti. The Former Minister is currently the president of one of the largest arms manufacturing companies.

Prayer and fasting for Ukraine

Recently, Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, recalled Pope Francis’ words at the end of his general audience last Wednesday, 23, when the Pontiff dealt with the crisis in Ukraine. “The Pope mentioned ‘great pain,’ ‘anguish and concern.’ And he urged all parties involved to ‘refrain from any action that causes even more suffering to the populations,’ ‘destabilize peaceful coexistence,’ and ‘discredit international law,'” he noted.

“We, believers, have not lost hope in a glimmer of the conscience of those who hold the destinies of the world in their hands. And we will continue to pray and fast, as we will do next Ash Wednesday, for peace in Ukraine and throughout the world,” he concluded. (EPC)

Compiled by Gustavo Kralj