Emphasizing an emotional plea for the end of the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis showed pilgrims at the general audience on April 3 the Rosary and Bible of a slain Ukrainian soldier.
“And let us not forget tormented Ukraine; so many dead!,” the Pope said, adding:
I hold in my hands a rosary and a book of the New Testament left by a soldier who died in the war. This boy was called Oleksandr, Alexander, and he was 23 years old.
The Holy Father continued:
Alexander read the New Testament and the Psalms, and in the Book of Psalms he had underlined Psalm 130: “Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice!”
This 23-year-old boy died in Avdiïvka, in the war. He had his life ahead of him. And this is his rosary and his New Testament, which he read and prayed.
I would like us to take a moment of silence, all of us, thinking about this boy and many others like him who died in this folly of war. War always destroys! Let us think of them, and let us pray.
And today we celebrate...