Presentation of the new stamp, folder and commemorative envelope dedicated to the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine

The Cathedral of Kyiv, a symbol of faith amid trials

The 12th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Greek-Catholic Church in Kyiv, the 20th anniversary of the return of the See of the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lviv to Kyiv, and the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv: these are the three anniversaries that the Vatican Postal and Philately Service of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems celebrates with the issuance of a postage stamp and special “die emissionis” postmark, an illustrative folder, and a commemorative envelope.

Presenting the new issues were His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, and Archbishop Emilio Nappa, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State. The presentation took place on Thursday afternoon, 26 February, in the Conference Hall of the Vatican Museums, in the presence of Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Apostolic Administrator “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” for Ukrainian Byzantine-rite Catholics residing in Italy, Monsignor Irynej Bilyk, Bishop of the Eparchy of Buchach of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, H.E. Mr. Francesco Di Nitto, Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See, H.E. Mr. Andrii Yurash, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Holy See, H.E. Mr. Antonio Zanardi Landi di Veano, Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Holy See, Engineer Antonino Intersimone, Director of Telecommunications and Information Systems, Fr. Felice Bruno, Head of the Postal and Philately Service, along with several prelates and numerous religious men and women.

The image reproduced is of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, depicted at sunset to highlight the lack of lighting due to the ongoing conflict — a tragedy that runs through the recent history of Ukraine and causes suffering and death among the population.

Below is the address delivered by Archbishop Emilio Nappa:

I extend my greeting to all the Authorities present and, in particular to His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, and to all of you gathered here.

The occasion that brings us together today arises from the coincidence of several events whose anniversaries share a common thread: the rebirth of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church — the 30th anniversary of the reconstitution of the Metropolitanate of Kyiv and the 20th anniversary of the return to the capital of the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The remembrance of these moments is the subject of the philatelic issue that we are about to unveil. The new Cathedral of Kyiv seeks to celebrate hope in the spiritual heart of this rebirth, which bears in its very name the brightest and most hope-filled mystery of our Faith: the Resurrection of Christ.

The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is the largest of the Eastern Churches in full communion with the Apostolic See, founded “upon the rock of Peter,” as His Beatitude recently affirmed, to underscore full and visible communion with the Bishop of Rome. On that same occasion, Pope Leo XIV addressed the Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church gathered in Synod, urging them to “remain united in the one faith and in the one hope,” despite the adversities of the present moment. As history reminds us, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has always played a decisive role in strengthening the faith and promoting cultural and educational development in territories where the Catholic Church was persecuted for decades and forced into hidding. This was made possible at the cost of great suffering and the sacrifice of those who, faithful to the Gospel, died as martyrs.

In this regard, one cannot fail to recall the words Pope Leo, addressed to pilgrims of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church during the Jubilee pilgrimage on the last 28th of June, when he described Ukraine as a “beautiful land, rich in Christian faith, made fruitful by the evangelical witness of so many saints and irrigated by the blood of many martyrs who, over the centuries, with the gift of their lives, sealed their fidelity to the Apostle Peter and his Successors.”

The issuance of a stamp by the Vatican Post is intended as a sign of gratitude for this bond that unites us with our faith in God and, today more than ever, in our shared universal values of peace and fraternity.

The image that we will shortly unveil, according to His Holiness, encapsulates the many testimonies of faith and hope given by Ukrainian men and women - namely that here is “a sign of God’s strength manifested amid the rubble of destruction.”

In conclusion, I wish to recall the words of Pope Leo XIV at the end of the audience with the members of the recent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, especially the comfort drawn from the “certainty that the Holy Mother of God is with us, assists us, and leads us to her Son, who is our peace”… “Let us remain united in the one faith and in the one hope.”

Thank you. And now I invite His Beatitude to proceed with the unveiling of the stamp, which will be followed, as tradition dictates, by the signing and the special postmark dedicated to this occasion.