From the Gemelli Hospital, where he has been since his surgery on Tuesday, Leo XIV spoke on the telephone with Vladimir Putin this October 16, the Holy See Press Office reported. The Pope asked the Russian President for relief for the small city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region. This was their second official telephone conversation since the election of the American-Peruvian pontiff last May. Having undergone surgery for a cancerous lung nodule last Tuesday, Leo XIV resumed his duties in full on Thursday. He has so far had visits from three cardinals, and today, he held a telephone conversation with President Putin, to whom he expressed “his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population,” according to the Vatican statement. This town Read More…

Pope talks to Putin, urges relief for besieged city