According to the brief communiqué issued by the Holy See, on June 28-29, 2023 "Cardinal Matteo Maria Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, accompanied by an official of the Secretariat of State, will pay a visit to Moscow as an envoy of Pope Francis."
The communiqué goes on to add the objective of the visit: "The main objective of the initiative is to encourage gestures of humanity that can contribute to a solution to the current tragic situation and to find ways to achieve a just peace".
Zuppi's visit to Ukraine in early June
This visit is part of the Vatican's intention to contribute to the cessation of the war that began after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
In this context, Zuppi has already visited Ukraine He met with religious and political personalities, including the country's president, Volodymir Zelensky.
He also had the opportunity to stop in Bucha, the town where the conflict began and where a massacre of civilians took place.
During this visit, he also met with Dmytro Lubinets, in charge of the defense of human rights, with whom he discussed the problem of Ukrainian children in territories occupied by Russian troops and the situation of prisoners, both military and civilian.
On the last day, the Cardinal was also able to have a moment of prayer in the cathedral of KievHagia Sophia.
