Pope Francis received in audience the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, this Thursday, April 27, a day before his apostolic journey to Hungary, where he will be closer to the conflict that is shaking the heart of Europe.

As reported by the Holy See Press Office, the private audience with the Pontiff took place in the Library Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace and lasted 30 minutes.

In the traditional exchange of gifts, the Holy Father presented the Ukrainian premier with a bronze bas-relief of a flower blossoming with the inscription "Peace is a fragile flower."

In addition, the Pope gave him some documents of his Magisterium, the book "Un'enciclica sulla pace in Ucraina" (An encyclical on peace in Ukraine) and the book on the Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020.

For his part, the Ukrainian Prime Minister presented the Holy Father with a ceramic jug depicting a rooster, which survived a bombing near Kyiv, and Ukrainian ears of wheat, as well as a book of photos on the ongoing war and the resistance of his people.

Later, a Vatican communiqué reported that after the meeting with the Pontiff, Denys Shmyhal met with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and with the Secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher.

The official statement said that during the talks held at the Secretariat of State, issues related "to the war in Ukraine were highlighted, paying particular attention to the humanitarian aspect and efforts to restore peace."

"In the same context, various topics concerning the life and activity of the Churches in the country were also discussed," the Holy See communiqué concludes.

This is the second meeting at the Vatican between the Pontiff and the Prime Minister of Kyiv after the audience of March 25, 2021, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine was yet to take place.

Pope Francis has made several appeals to those in authority over nations to commit concretely to ending the conflict in Ukraine, an argument that will also be at the center of the Pope's apostolic trip to Budapest (April 28-30) and dialogue with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The Pontiff will meet with some of the 35,000 Ukrainian refugees who remain in Hungary after more than 2 million fled across the country's eastern borders at the start of the Russian invasion. Francis has already expressed his appreciation for the welcome Hungary offered to the Ukrainian refugees.

This is the trip that brings Pope Francis closest to the conflict in Ukraine. "We will be just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters this week. "We can certainly expect words about (Pope Francis') pain over this conflict and the search for peace."

The papal itinerary includes a stop at a Greek Catholic church that has ministered to refugees. The Greek Catholic Church is one of the Eastern Catholic congregations that recognize the Pope's authority.

At the end of the Regina Caeli prayer on Sunday, April 23, the Pontiff entrusted his 40th apostolic journey to the prayers of the faithful.

"It will be an opportunity to embrace once again a Church and a people very dear to me. It will also be a trip to the center of Europe, through which icy winds of war continue to blow while the movements of so many people place urgent humanitarian questions on the table," he said.

"Let us not forget our Ukrainian brothers and sisters still affected by this war," added the Holy Father, who has on several occasions expressed his support for the people of Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion.

This article was originally published in ACI Prensa