Two trucks filled with food aid are on their way to Ukraine, announced Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, in a press release published August 30, 2023. The Dicastery plans to deliver 300,000 portions of freeze-dried broth, which has a high nutritional value, to populations living in the areas most affected by the war.
Since the start of the war, the Pope’s “charity cardinal” has sent 106 trucks filled with aid to Ukraine. The most recent food donations came from “an important Korean company,” explains the statement of the Dicastery, which has been in charge of the Pope's and the Vatican’s charity initiatives since the new Apostolic Constitution came into force in June 2022.
The text also states that 30 homeless people, housed in “Pope Francis’ Dormitory” near St. Peter’s Square, "did not hesitate to volunteer their time in organizing the aid shipment." The aid was then transferred and organized at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish in Rome, the Basilica of Santa Sofia.
A house in Lviv for widows and mothers
In addition to sending aid to Ukraine, the Vatican will also open a house in Lviv, a city in the west of the country and relatively untouched by Russian bombing, but which has been hosting many internally displaced people.
“On our upcoming trips to Ukraine, we will not only bring food but we will also open a large house in Lviv for war widows and mothers with children, built with the help of other entities but in which the Holy Father played the main role,” Cardinal Krajewski explains in the statement.
The 59-year-old Polish cardinal has carried out numerous missions in Ukraine since the start of the Russian offensive, including visiting mass graves on Good Friday in 2022.
His travels have sometimes taken him very close to the front line. For example, in September 2022, while in the Ukrainian town of Zaporizhzhia to deliver food and rosaries on behalf of Pope Francis, Cardinal Krajewski and his team came under fire.
