Pope Leo sends food to families in Ukraine

Families in Kharkiv receiving aid parcels

Source: Vatican Media

Donations of food from Pope Leo XIV, sent through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, have been delivered to the residents of Ukrainian town of Staryi Saltiv and city of Shevchenkove, heavily bombed by Russia recently.

The Holy Father has also asked that concrete aid be sent to those suffering from Typhoon Danas in Taiwan.

The rest period of the Holy Father at Castel Gandolfo does not apply to solidarity initiatives being carried out for populations whose lives and dreams, as he said last Sunday during Mass at the parish of St Thomas of Villanova, "are being destroyed by war." Through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, the Pope sent food parcels to inhabitants of certain areas of Kharkiv gthat have been devastated by heavy missile and drone attacks.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, told Vatican News: "The Holy Father asked us to do it as quickly as possible.. Charity never takes a vacation!"

Recently, trucks filled with canned food, along with oil, pasta, meat, fish, tuna, and basic necessity items departed from the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Rome, for the village of Staryi Saltiv and the city of Shevchenkove, both in the region of Kharkiv.

The food was provided by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, an organization that promotes spiritual, cultural, and charitable initiatives in accordance with Christian principles in Italy and around the world.

The Order also supplied several pallets needed to carry out this latest mission. This initiative follows a similar one in June, when cargo shipments of mattresses, food, and children's toys were sent to Ukraine from the same Basilica.

Everything was delivered directly to the families who survived the raids, without any mediation or distribution by other aid agencies.

On the white boxes, the inscription in Ukrainian and Italian reads: "Gift of Pope Leo XIV for the people of Kharkiv."

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists yesterday that Pope Leo is praying for those affected Typhoon Danas in Taiwan, and has asked the Office of Papal Almonry to provide some aid there.